UAE recalls envoy to Lebanon, prohibits citizens from entering state amid political crisis

The UAE has decided to recall its ambassador to Lebanon for discussions in solidarity with Riyadh and to bar its citizens from visiting the country, the official WAM news agency cited the UAE foreign ministry. Led by Saudi Arabia, Four Gulf states, have pulled their envoys from Lebanon, striking a serious blow to the Mediterranean country as it grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades. After Lebanon's communications minister refused to apologise for criticising the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the oil-rich Gulf states, to which Lebanon had previously looked for financial support, withdrew their diplomats and expelled Beirut's envoy.

Riyadh has recalled its ambassador to Lebanon for discussions, according to Saudi state-run channel Al-Ekhbariya, and has ordered that the Lebanese envoy depart the country within the next 48 hours. It also agreed to halt imports from Lebanon into Saudi Arabia. Sputnik reported, citing an informed diplomatic source that Saudi Arabia is considering ending diplomatic relations with Lebanon.

After excerpts from Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi's interview with Al-Jazeera, in which he slammed the actions of the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen and called the war in Yemen pointless, Lebanese local Tv channels reported later that all states of the Cooperation Council for Arab States of the Gulf are ready to severe diplomatic relations with Lebanon in the near future.

Gulf governments concerned over Hezbollah's growing political and paramilitary clout

The Gulf governments have been increasingly upset with Lebanon's politics in recent years, concerned about Hezbollah's (a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group) growing political and paramilitary clout, as well as corruption and the government's failure to implement reforms. Hezbollah, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, is in control of Lebanon's government. "Hezbollah’s hegemony over the political system in Lebanon worries us, and it makes dealing with Lebanon futile," he said, according to the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network. 

After Lebanon's violent 15-year civil war ended in 1990, Gulf investors were crucial to the city's restoration, and the Gulf remains an important job market for Lebanese employees who send significant remittances home. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, which records global trade flows, Saudi Arabia was Lebanon's fourth-largest export market in 2019, the year the economic crisis began and the most recent year for which data is available.

Image: AP