Lebanon’s ‘lung’ to Persian Gulf markets choked by politics

Lebanon's 'lung' to Persian Gulf markets choked by politics | iNFOnews.ca
In this Oct. 31 2018 photo, workers pack Lebanese fruits for export from Lebanon to the Gulf and other Arab countries, at a warehouse in Bar Elias town, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The long-awaited reopening of a vital border crossing between Syria and Jordan earlier this month was supposed to bring relief to Lebanese farmers and traders looking to resume exports to Gulf countries. But the commerce has so far been complicated by politics, high transit fees and fighting over which trucks pass through which country. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

AL-MASNAA, Lebanon – Lebanese exporters rejoiced last month when the Syrian government opened a key land crossing with Jordan that had been closed by years of war, restoring a much-needed overland trade route to lucrative Persian Gulf markets.

But lingering disputes between Lebanon and Syria, and political gridlock in Beirut, mean many Lebanese businesses still rely on longer and costlier transport by sea, further stalling efforts to restore an economy battered by years of Syria’s civil war.

The reopening of the Naseeb-Jaber crossing allowed Mohammed Araji, owner of a trucking firm in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, to retrieve two trucks that had been stranded in Jordan since 2015, when Syrian rebels captured the crossing.

Two other of his refrigerator trucks had been parked in front of his house for the last three years.

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