Lebanon raises with EU Ambassador the difficulties in accessing European markets

The Minister of Trade and Economy, Dr. Alan Hakim, disclosed after a meeting with the European Union Ambassador to Lebanon, Christina Lassen, that discussions centered on relations between Lebanon and the EU and on clarifying certain areas of cooperation between the two parties. Hakim said the meeting comes as part of ongoing consultations related to Lebanese-European relations under the new European Neighborhood Policy Agreement, particularly in terms of facilitating inter-trade and providing access to European markets for made-in-Lebanon products. Hakim indicated that preparations for the visit next week of the head of the delegation responsible for negotiating Lebanon’s accession to the World Trade Organization were also discussed.  The meeting also delved in the EU-Lebanon cooperation in the fields of investment and improvement of the business environment in specific sectors and the significance of diversification of markets to ease potential risks on domestic economy. “Every arrangement has its pros and cons, therefore, we need to develop a comprehensive vision of the Lebanese markets and what they require. We need to identify our goal concerning these agreements so that we can negotiate accordingly,” Hakim concluded. (Al Diyar, March 5, 2016)