News updates

The Minister of Industry, Hussein Haj Hassan, held an extensive meeting at the Ministry with owners of pickles factories and plastic barrel plants in the presence of General Director of the Lebanese Standards Institution, Libnor, Engineer Lina Dirgham, as well as representatives of the Ministries of Industry, Agriculture and Health. The meeting was devoted to the issue of food safety in the production of pickles especially in terms of the usage toxic packaging and resulted in several measurements and discussions. Following the meeting, Minister Haj Hassan said that the issue of pickles will be followed up by the three ministries through joint supervision of factories. Concerning the unlicensed factories, Haj Hassan gave the owners a one month ultimatum to file their registration papers at the Ministry of Industry. For his part, Minister of Faour indicated that inspection of 132 plants operating plants revealed that only 25 of them were legal.

(Refer to: List of decisions on food safety in the production of pickles)

(Al Diyar, An Nahar, 7 April 2015)

The Lebanon Mountain Trail Association kicked off its seventh consecutive annual trek-walk during a special event held in Andeqt under the patronage of Tourism Minister Michel Faroun. The event was organized in cooperation with Andeqt municipality and was attended by MPs Hadi Hobeysh, Nidal Tohme and a number of public figures and activists in the field. Speaking at the launching, Faroun pointed out that trekking is not just an environmental action, but it also helps promote a responsible economic and tourism momentum that will boost the development of the targeted region. “Eco-tourism can be developed so as to constitute 20% of the tourism sector and can play a key role in reviving rural areas while creating new jobs,” he explained. The long journey which involves 170 hikers from 13 different countries will start from the village of Andeqt in the North, moving to Qobayyat where the trekking group will spend the night before heading the next day to the town of Tashih while passing through many villages on the way to Hasbaya-Marje3yoon in the South. The trekkers will hike the entire 470 km-distance through the month of April while spending a total of 800 night units at 40 guesthouses and pumping some USD 50 thousand into the local communities. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, 7 April 2015)

The capture of the main crossing point on the Jordanian-Syrian borders by Al Qaeda insurgents has resulted in closing the single route for Lebanese exports to Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries. The recent development has inflicted heavy losses after the looting of some 150 Lebanese trucks and the subsequent announcement by the Jordanian Authorities of the shut down of the crossing. This new situation could deal a major blow to Lebanese exports which have to rely now on sea route that reportedly is more costly and will lead to delays ranging from 10 days to one month. Commenting on the new situation, Vice President of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, Ziad Bikdach, said: “The closure of Nasib crossing could lead to a collapse, by 50%, in the levels of industrial and agricultural exports.” “Nearly 50 loaded trucks used to cross the borders at that point every day,” he added, “but now this number is going to drop to half, at best.” President of the Association of Bekaa Farmers, Ibrahim Tarshishi appealed to Jordan to revise the closure decision. “Some 300,000 tons of Lebanese agricultural produce normally travel through this route yearly,” he complained. For his part, head of the Lebanese Farmers Association, Antoine Hwayek, pointed out that this incident coincided with the end of the export season for apples, bananas and citrus fruits, noting that potato exports stopped earlier. “Consequently, exports of these goods will affected by the closure of the crossing which will also impact the time needed between the peak harvest season and arrival of those goods to the destined markets,” he explained. Lebanese exporters and merchants who rely on this route voiced their concern and Beqaa farmers urged the Lebanese government to mediate with Jordan to resolve this emerging crisis. In a similar note, President of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, Fadi Gemayel, call on government to declare an agriculture emergency situation and to search for feasible alternative routes to the main Arab markets, particularly Gulf countries that normally make for more than 45% of the industrial exports. Meanwhile, reports indicated that armed elements that have kidnapped a number of Lebanese truck-drivers are now demanding ransom to release them. (Al Akhbar, As Safir, Al Mustaqbal, 4 April 2015)

The Order of Nurses in Lebanon appealed to the local media for caution in communicating information that can undermine the profession. In a statement distributed to media channels in Lebanon, the Order demanded a vigilant researching of facts before making them public, noting that the final legal say on any wrongdoing reside entirely with the judiciary and concerned institutions. The order also reiterated its commitment to its arbitration role in resolving conflicts with nursing professionals and workers, as well as its determination to take the proper disciplinary and administrative action against any violator of the ethical values of the profession. The statement of the Order comes in the wake of several media reports criticizing the performance of some hospital nurses. (Al Mustaqbal, 4 April 2015)

An eco-recreational park was inaugurated in Bentael natural reserve in Jbail within the framework of ‘Building Alliance for Local Advancement, Development and Investment (BALADI) program funded by US Agency for International Development and implemented by Rene Moawwad Foundation (RMF). The event took place in the presence of USAID Deputy Assistant, Mona Yacubian, USAID Mission Director, Carolyn Bryan, Former Minister and RMF President Nayla Moawwad, representative of the Head of the Office of Common Administration at the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, Racha Hurani and representatives of Edde Municipality. USAID contributed $159,000 to establish the resort which houses a library, a cultural museum and a showroom for local products and handicrafts. The park also includes installations accessible for people with disabilities and is open annually from April to October. (Al Mustaqbal, 2 April 2015)

Minister of Industry, Hussein Haj Hassan noted that Lebanon needs to create between 35,000 and 40,000 jobs annually to contain the influx of workforce in the labor market. Speaking to L’Orient Le Jour newspaper on March 21, Haj Hassan said “aside from migration which absorbs a considerable part the labor force, we still have to generate some 15 thousand employment opportunities per year.” Furthermore, he indicated that while services constitute the pillars of the Lebanese economy, those sectors has reached a saturation point, namely with the reported rise of unemployment to 30%. He added that agriculture and industry can provide good prospects for job creation. “There are currently 40 thousand workers in these two sectors,” he said while revealing that he intends to increase the contribution of industry to GDP from 11 to 18% over the next 3 to 4 years. Haj Hassan noted that the industry sector suffers from high costs of production linked to high energy and real estate prices. On reforms planned by his Ministry, Haj Hassan indicated that work is underway on the adoption of new income taxation that will provide exemptions on agricultural and industrial export sales. This decision he said will be followed by another legal action to support those loans aimed at financing the procurement of raw material. He added that his Ministry is presently working on the construction of three industrial zones of a total area of 1000 acres, that will be leased to entrepreneurs at price rates 60 to 70% less than market values, and which will be completed in two to three years. (L’Orient Le Jour, 21 March 2015)

Tourism Minister Michel Faroun launched in a press conference yesterday a project ‘Bike Du Liban’. Present were, Director General of the Social Welfare Institutions and Dar Al Aytam Al Islamiya, Beirut, former minister, Khaled Kabbani, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, Nada Sarduk, Director General of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, Ziad Khayami, Central Bank Executive Director, Marian Hwayek, Bike Du Liban Honorary President, Gaby Tamer and members of Beirut City Council as well as a number of social, environmental, cultural and sports officials. Speaking about the project, Tamer reiterated the important role of civil society in protecting the environment and expressed hope that the use of bicycles will expand so that “we can watch ministers and MPs riding bikes to their offices as is the case in Europe and the United States”; said Tamer. Kabbani described the event as a national initiative that engages all the Lebanese regions and provides a space for the Lebanese from across the country to unite. For his part, Khayami cited the positive outcomes of the project which will contribute to protecting the environment, creates a solution for the traffic problem and presents an all-encompassing sports culture for all sects of society. Speaking on behalf of the Bank of Lebanon, Marian Hwayek announced the Bank’s full support to the event as part of its social responsibility and as a contribution from this public sector institution to civil society activities. (Al Diyar, 30 March 2015)

Baz3un farmers and Bsharri mayor Hanna Faddul appealed to authorities concerned for assistance in the wake of the wrecking winter storms that devastated their agriculture lands in Al Hita highlands of Bazoun. The storm reportedly uprooted more then 1500 fruit-bearing trees and a number of old forest trees. Furthermore, it destroyed the reinforced earth walls and devastated irrigation canals. Faddul explained that every year farmers have to endure the effects of storms and bad harvests while falling into financial debts as a result of high production costs. Furthermore, he complained, that while farmers are normally not succeeding in selling their harvests, the storm of this winter destroyed all remaining hopes. Faddul urged the Higher Relief Committee to visit the town and to assess the damages. (Al Diyar, 31 March 2015)

Safadi Foundation organized a series of training workshops for the second grouping of women from all over Akkar, who benefited from the EU-funded project aiming at exploiting local resources for the development of rural economy in Akkar. The project is part of the ‘Ideas- 3” program which funded by the European Union and managed by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs (OMSAR), in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, AIDA. The training sessions which took place at Safadi Center for Agricultural Development-Akkar, were led by Lebanese University professor, Agronomist, Dr. Jihad Noon, who is an expert on the growing of Thyme and aromatic herbs, and with the participation of some 40 women and their families. The course covered different stages of thyme ‘Zaatar’ cultivation, mainly, soil preparation, planting, irrigation, harvest and marketing of the produce. The Project’s Agriculture Engineer, Emile Al Asmar, underlined the significance of the said project for Akkar region at both the economic and development levels. He also urged women participants to complete all related training sessions, and to look after their crops in order to generate income for their households. (Al Diyar, 30 March 2015)

The traditional craft of copper polishing appeared in South Lebanon in the second half of the 19th Century. It emerged in Jwayya through one villager who acquired the skills from a wandering Egyptian craftsperson before it spread among the village youth and people of neighboring towns and villages. One present craftsperson, Qassem Hashem, boasting his 53 year old profession which he inherited from his father, said that his family business of polishing copper utensils provided for his 8-member household throughout the years. Abu Hassan said that he hoped to remain proud and resilient until the rest of his life while practicing his profession. “Living with minimum income is better than destitution and than having to plea for help,” he said. (Al Diyar, 27 March 2015)