Sunday 22 Dec
Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Alaa Farouk, met with his Lebanese counterpart, Abbas Al-Haj Hassan, to explore ways to enhance agricultural cooperation between the two countries. Egyptian Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mustafa Al-Sayyad, also attended the meeting.
Farouk underscored President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's directive to provide comprehensive support to Lebanon. During the meeting, both ministers reviewed agricultural trade, focusing on facilitating the exchange of goods. This included streamlining Egyptian potato exports, regulating mango and date palm seedling exports to Lebanon, and easing the importation of Lebanese goods.
The Lebanese Minister
acknowledged Egypt as a primary trade partner, importing not only agricultural
products but also industrial, medical, and other goods. He expressed gratitude
for Egypt's support during recent crises and discussed exporting citrus fruits
to Lebanon.
Both ministers agreed to
collaborate on date exports to global markets, leveraging Egypt's position as
the world's leading date producer.
The meeting was attended by Dr.
Adel Abdel Azim, President of the Agricultural Research Center, Dr. Saad
Moussa, Supervisor of External Agricultural Relations, and officials from both
ministries.
It's noteworthy that Lebanon imports Egyptian potatoes from February to March annually. Egypt also exports approximately 6,000 tons of various mangoes. In return, Egypt imports significant quantities of Lebanese apples and other fruits as market demand arises. Lebanon also seeks to benefit from Egypt's expertise in wheat cultivation and enhancing crop productivity through collaboration with the Agricultural Research Center.
