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International legislation threatens tobacco industry, a major source of income to the Lebanese treasury

2-3-2018

The CEO of Regie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs, Nassif Siklawi, warned during the third meeting of the National Tobacco Institutions in Cairo yesterday, that international decisions are threating the sector along with the economies of participating countries, namely, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebaon and Iraq. The most hazardous of these resolutions, Siklawi said, are the discussions taking place in the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention (COP 8) and which considered the cultivation of tobacco as a climate menace. Such decisions without trying to find alternative resolutions to the problem will definitely affect the fate of the industry’s workforce, Siklawi cautioned, noting that the main concern among Cairo meeting participants now is protecting the sector in the face of such challenges. The tobacco industry in Lebanon, Siklawi said, is one of the chief support pillars and the 5th source of backup for the state treasury, making 7.5% of its total revenues (Regie proceeds in 2017 reached USD 444 million). He expressed pride that the company has become one of the most advanced tobacco manufacturing centers in the MENA region, scoring the highest point in terms of ISO 90001 standards. Furthermore, the Regie’s importance is not limited to its production of 9 national tobacco brands, but it extends to supporting more than 25,000 tobacco growers across Lebanon, besides its many development-related projects in over 170 towns and villages. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, March 2, 2018)

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Educational orientation for school students in Biel

28-2-2018

Promofair, the company specializing in events and exhibitions, announced the launch of EDEX Education & Orientation Expo 2018 (Biel, March 1-4 under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri. According to Promofair managing director, Nabil Baz, the event is the first in Lebanon in terms of the size of participants (some 55 local and international universities and 100 exhibitors). The pavilions bring together the different branches of the Lebanese University, private universities and a number of French and British academic institutions, in addition to technology giants like Apple, Microsoft and Huawei companies. The exhibition, Baz stressed, offers students an opportunity to learn about future careers and possible studies in an innovative and comprehensive approach. The event extend guidance and orientation to students through hooking them up with specialists in the fields who listen to their questions and help them discover their professional tendencies, and eventually learn about the appropriate and most wanted competence in the labor market. (An Nahar, February 28, 2018)

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Agriculture in Lebanon not doing well

27-2-2018

Problems continue to plague the agricultural sector in Lebanon. The minister of agriculture Ghazi Z3aiter met on February 25 with potato and onion growers, and a delegation from Al Mashate and revealed that one office at Lebanon’s Audit Bureau is impeding the works of his ministry in a number of files, including payments to Al Mashatel. On the other hand, the finance minister announced on February 24 that the sums allocated by a premier’s decision to support olive oil production in Marjey3oon and Hasbaya still awaits the publishing of the general budget, pledging to step up the execution of the decision delayed by bureaucratic procedures. Meanwhile, the Zgharta-Ehden Municipality, in cooperation with the Chamber of Tripoli and the Federation of Municipalities of Zgharta District and the patronage of tourism minister, organized on February 25 the first olive festival in the town of Kfarhata which included rural cooking and children’s recreational activities. On the fate of potato and potato farmers, after the entry in the first week of February of the Egyptian ship loaded with 7 thousand tons of potato, the chief of the Beqaa Farmers Association, Ibrahim Tarshishi, disclosed to An Nahar that the distributed quantities have dumped the local markets incurring huge losses on both the Lebanese and Egyptian traders and causing further decline in the price of the products. An Nahar pointed out that the minister of agriculture is under pressure to concede the entry of the Egyptian potato before the agreed date to safeguard the political and trade interests between the two countries. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, February 24, 26, 2018)

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Private sector initiatives to support innovation and employment

27-2-2018

Ora Union concluded the Forum of Opportunities and Capacities 2018 at the Forum de Beyrouth (news) with the participation of 225 banking, agricultural, craft and industrial cooperatives, publishing houses, bookshops and universities. The event saw the attendance of over 26 thousand people and the provision of some 2600 jobs in various sectors and included a number of seminars and exhibitions, namely a talk on rural development which focused on organic agriculture, medicinal and aromatic herbs cultivation and subsidized loans and how to benefit from them. On the other hand, the Antonine University faculty of Business Administration distributed prizes among winning students in the entrepreneurship contest, organized in its 6th edition in cooperation with Kafalat and RDCL. Around 180 students partook in the competition presenting 15 projects focusing on the principle of social entrepreneurship and the role of creativity and innovation in bringing about change and community service. Meanwhile, AUB School of Agriculture, organized the Raji & Fawzieh Sinno Promising Leader in Agriculture Award 2018 motivated by the decline in admission to the schools of agriculture in the past few years. To recall, the competition is open to grade 12 students from all public and private high schools to develop projects that present added value, innovative and feasible solutions to the challenges faced by the agricultural sector in Lebanon. (Al Akhbar, An Nahar, Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, L’Orient Le Jour, February 24, 26, 27, 2018)

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Al Mashghal in Tripoli to match graduates with job market

27-2-2018

The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Tripoli and the North, sponsored last Sunday a scientific seminar outlining the basic pillars of Al Mashghal/ Labor Market Observatory aimed at creating a link between fresh graduates and the labor market needs. The outfit acts as a reference and database for the needs of the private and public sector companies through a complete partnership between the Chamber, Beirut Arab University, Al Jinan University, Lebanese International University, Beyond Reform and Development and the Italian NGO COSV which supports the project. On the occasion, the Chamber president, Tufic Dabbusi, underlined the importance of partnership and cooperation between academic institutions and the private sector firms in the search for employment opportunities. For his part, the trainer from Beyond, Omar Abdel Samad, expounded the general scheme of Al Mashghal to provide required services for university students, higher education institutions, business community and NGOs. Thus, Abdel Samad explained, it works to gather the largest amount of statistics resulting from the joint work between universities and private sector companies, as well as, studies the labor market requirements and facilitates the lookout for prospects for innovative entrepreneurs. (Al Mustaqbal, February 26, 2018)

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28.5% of Lebanese live below poverty line, unemployment reaches 20%

23-2-2018

The economic bulletin for the fourth quarter of 2017 published by Fransabank indicated that the current rate of unemployment has exceeded 20% and that the country needs to secure annually some 22,000 jobs for young people anticipated to enter the labor market by 2019, noting that 28.5% of the Lebanese live below the poverty line. On the other hand, the bulletin showed that the performance of leading sectors has improved during 2017 as compared to 2016, which boosted economic growth from 1.1-1.4% in 2016 to 2-3% in 2017, according to the respective estimates of IMF and IIF. The report also revealed that the value of real estate transactions increased by 18.5% in 2017, the number of tourists by 10%, number of travelers via Beirut International Airport by 8.3%, hotel occupancy rose to 64.8%, electricity production increased by 14.6% and the Port Beirut revenues by 0.4%. The report said that the State’s finance has witnessed an improvement in public revenues by 13.7% between end-2016 and end-October 2017, while public spending increased by 2.8%, leading to a public deficit of USD 2.5 billion by 25% decline. (The report in English is available on the following link: https://goo.gl/EUkXHP). (Al Akhbar, February 20, 2018)

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Philip Morris Lebanon won Top Employer award

22-2-2018

Philip Morris Lebanon, a leading global tobacco company, received on February 19, the Top Employer certification for the third consecutive year for its excellence in career development programs and enriching the work environment. To note, the certification is granted by the Top Employer Institute following a vigorous assessment validated by the global auditing company, Grant Thornton, of the companies’ practices in multiple areas. These include: salary policy, employee benefits, career development, working conditions, training and development. (Al Mustaqbal, February 20, 2018)

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Job and Orientation Fair in Tripoli

21-2-2018

In collaboration with the Institut Europeen de Cooperation et de Developpement (IECD), the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Tripoli and the North launched yesterday the sixth edition of the Job & Orientation Fair 2018 under the patronage of labor minister Mohamad Kabbara and the minister of state for administrative reform, Dr. Inaya Ezzedine. On the occasion, Ezzedine said the exhibition, which is the culmination of on-going efforts by the European Institute and her ministry, aims to support women empowerment programs, enhance women’s participation in the social and economic arenas and boost their presence at all levels. It also seeks to network local companies with complementary occupations and create a partnership between them to the end of achieving the goals of sustainable development. Similarly, the Chamber’s president, Toufic Dabbusi, said that participating in the job fair facilitates young people’s access to decent work prospects through identifying the points of strength for attracting investment. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, February 21, 2018)

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Agricultural losses since closure of Syrian borders

21-2-2018

Losses in agricultural exports since the closure of the land crossings between Lebanon and Syria reached nearly USD 300 million. This was sparked by the Lebanese authorities’ refusal to buy 4 container ships to transport without charge the trucks destined to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, according to the annual report published last week by the Farmers’ Association. The report indicated that agricultural exports, which remain hard hit by the closure of the Nassib Crossing, have stabilized at 350,000 tons per year compared to 530,000 tons before the closure. Exports recorded 353,000 tons in the year 2017 with a 2% decline from 2016 and 34% decline from 2014, the report said. In terms of sectors, banana exports posted in 2017 a 40.5% drop from 2016, while potato exports dropped by 6%, the report added. On the other hand, the agriculture minister and FAO disclosed the results of the first phase of the farmers’ registry launched back in January, 2017, noting that some 500 farmers and fisherfolks in Akkar and Baalbek-Hermel districts have participated in the pilot phase. The registry contains information on the socio-economic status of farmers and fishers that can be used by the government to develop adequate support programs. The FAO pointed out that while agriculture contributes to 5% of the GDP in Lebanon, yet it remains sidelined in the national economic policies. (L’Orient Le Jour, February 19, 20, 2018)

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2018 Forum of Opportunities and Capacities in Beirut

19-2-2018

In collaboration with Ora Union, and under the patronage of prime minister Saad Hariri, the head of Labora organization, Father Toni Khadra, inaugurated on Friday the Forum of Opportunities and Capacities 2018 at the Forum de Beyrouth (February 20-25). In his opening address, Khadra said the exhibition is a “meeting point for capacities and available opportunities to create a new dimension of productivity that fosters steadfastness in the country,” stressing the importance of giving edge in recruitment to the Lebanese workforce. For her part, the media officer at Ora Union, Brigitte Abu Antun, pointed out that the first of its kind event covers four different expositions: the job opportunities and employment fair, the Lebanese University Open Doors fair, the Christian Fair and the Agriculture and Craft Production Fair. It also includes the 2nd Edition of the Ora Short Film Festival, the 3rd Edition of the Visual Arts Fair, in addition to various activities, like media and training workshops, music shows, economic lectures, social and agricultural seminars, meetings on media and tourism, honoring of artists, students and professors, a teamwork and leadership training session, village dinner and artisan workshops. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, February 17, 19, 2018)

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