Published: 2026-08-28
The UAE has sent its largest business delegation ever to Lebanon. More than 80 Emirati companies and economic leaders, headed by Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, took part in the two-day Lebanese-Emirati Economic Forum in Beirut on 2026-08-26 and 2026-08-27. The visit produced four memoranda of understanding: one creates a Joint UAE-Lebanon Business Council, one links the Abu Dhabi Chamber with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, and two are commercial agreements signed by Elite Agro Holding in agriculture and food security. The numbers behind the trip: non-oil trade between the UAE and Lebanon reached USD 4.2 billion (about AED 15.4 billion) in 2025, up 35.6% on 2024 and, according to the minister, among the highest annual figures of the past 15 years. The delegation named logistics, agriculture, energy, aviation, tourism, healthcare and AI as the sectors it wants to enter first. For companies registered in the UAE, including those owned by foreign founders, this opens a formal channel into a market that had been largely closed to Gulf business for several years.
What happened in Beirut on 2026-08-26 and 2026-08-27
The forum was organised by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon and reported by the Emirates News Agency (WAM), The National, Economy Middle East and Al-Monitor. The essentials, as published:
- The UAE delegation of more than 80 economic leaders and private-sector representatives was led by Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade. Al-Monitor described it as the largest Emirati business delegation ever to visit Lebanon.
- On the Lebanese side, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Tarek Mitri represented Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the forum; Economy and Trade Minister Amer Bisat and Industry Minister Joe Issa El Khoury also spoke. President Joseph Aoun received the delegation at Baabda Palace and told the visitors that “Lebanon is your second home”.
- Four memoranda of understanding were signed (WAM count; Economy Middle East reported a fifth, between the Beirut chamber and the Ras Al Khaimah chamber). The first establishes the Joint UAE-Lebanon Business Council. The second connects the Abu Dhabi Chamber and the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Chamber to expand investment and business opportunities. The remaining two were signed by UAE company Elite Agro Holding: one with the American University of Beirut on food security and agricultural research in arid environments, and one with a Lebanese greenhouse producer, Daccache and Sons, on greenhouse design and crops.
- The new business council held its inaugural meeting during the forum. Its agenda, as reported by WAM: facilitating investment, organising sector-focused business events and removing trade barriers between the two countries. Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Shamsi, Assistant Director-General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the council would prepare an investment road map for Lebanon.
- Dr Al Zeyoudi said the agreements and the council “give businesses on both sides a clear platform to identify opportunities, build partnerships and invest with confidence”. He also proposed starting work on a comprehensive economic framework agreement as an umbrella for bilateral economic relations; Minister Bisat said that work on such a framework would continue in the coming period.
The sources do not disclose the value of the agreements, the membership terms of the council or a calendar of its events. Those details will follow from the council and the chambers.
UAE and Lebanon in numbers
The figures released around the forum, with source and period:
| Indicator | Value | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Non-oil trade, UAE and Lebanon | USD 4.2 billion (about AED 15.4 billion) | Ministry of Foreign Trade, 2025 |
| Growth of non-oil trade | +35.6% year on year | Figures presented by Dr Al Zeyoudi at the forum; WAM rounds to “nearly 36%” |
| Size of the UAE delegation | more than 80 companies and economic leaders | WAM, The National, 2026-08-26 |
| Memoranda signed | 4 (WAM); 5 per Economy Middle East | 2026-08-26 |
| Chambers involved | Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman and, per one report, Ras Al Khaimah; Beirut and Mount Lebanon | WAM, Economy Middle East, Middle East Star |
| Target sectors named by the delegation | logistics, agriculture, energy, aviation, tourism, healthcare, AI, renewables | The National, Economy Middle East |
| Travel restriction for UAE nationals to Lebanon | lifted in June 2026 | The National, 2026-06-29 |
The AED equivalent is our conversion at the fixed peg of AED 3.6725 per US dollar; the ministry published the figure in dollars.
Why the trip matters more than the paperwork
Business councils and chamber-to-chamber memoranda are signed every month in the Gulf. Three things make this one different.
First, the timing. Relations between Lebanon and the Gulf states had cooled for years, and Emirati citizens were advised against travel to Lebanon until the UAE lifted the restriction in June 2026. A delegation of 80 companies two months later is a political signal as much as a commercial one: the UAE government is telling its private sector that Lebanon is open for business again.
Second, the trade base is already there. USD 4.2 billion of non-oil trade is not a start-up relationship; the growth of 35.6% in a single year shows demand on both sides recovering faster than the diplomacy. Lebanon imports most of what it consumes, and the UAE, with Jebel Ali and the Khalifa Port complex, is the natural re-export hub for goods heading to the Levant.
Third, the people. Dr Al Zeyoudi singled out the Lebanese diaspora in the UAE as the bridge between the two business communities. Lebanese professionals run companies, banks, agencies and hospitality groups across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Many of them already hold UAE licences and can act on the new agreements without waiting for anything else to be signed.
How a UAE company can use the new channel
For a business already registered in the UAE, or planning to register one, the practical openings look like this:
- Trading and re-export. Goods for Lebanon can be routed through a UAE free zone company: consolidation in Jebel Ali or KIZAD, customs clearance in the UAE, shipment to Beirut. The UAE company holds the contract, the bank account and the trade finance. Our guide on the UAE multimodal logistics hub covers the infrastructure side.
- Agriculture and food security. The two Elite Agro Holding agreements show where the UAE side is looking: greenhouse technology, research with the American University of Beirut and crops in arid conditions. Suppliers of equipment, irrigation and agritech can follow the same path.
- Services from the UAE base. Engineering, design, IT, logistics management and consulting for Lebanese reconstruction projects can be contracted through a UAE entity, invoiced in AED or USD and paid into a UAE bank account, which removes the Lebanese banking system from the payment chain.
- Council membership. Country business councils in the UAE work through the chambers. A company needs a valid UAE licence and chamber membership to join; the Joint UAE-Lebanon Business Council has not yet published its admission terms.
The model is the same one that Dubai Chamber uses with other partner countries, most recently the Uzbekistan Business Council, and it is the mechanism behind the growth of Dubai-India trade to AED 222.5 billion.
Checklist: before you trade with Lebanon through a UAE company
- Check that your UAE licence covers the activity (general trading, import and export, agricultural equipment, consulting) or add it before signing contracts.
- Confirm that your bank accepts Lebanon-related transactions. UAE banks apply enhanced due diligence to some Levant counterparties; ask your relationship manager before the first invoice.
- Structure payments so that they are settled in the UAE: advance payments, letters of credit issued by UAE banks or escrow through a UAE entity.
- Register for UAE corporate tax and VAT if you have not done so; exports of goods from the UAE are zero-rated for VAT, but the paperwork must be in order.
- If you plan to attend council events or chamber missions, keep your chamber membership current and your establishment card valid.
How Atlant Capital can help
Atlant Capital sets up and runs UAE companies for foreign founders, including entrepreneurs from the CIS who use the UAE as a base for trade with the Middle East and Africa. For businesses that want to work with Lebanon through a UAE entity, we handle company registration in a free zone or on the mainland with the right trading or consulting activities, corporate bank account opening with a bank that is comfortable with your counterparties, residence visas for the owners and staff, and the tax and accounting compliance that keeps the company in good standing. We also advise on chamber membership and on which emirate’s chamber fits your sector.
Conclusion
An 80-company delegation, a new business council, a chamber-to-chamber agreement and USD 4.2 billion of trade growing at 35.6% a year: the UAE has decided that Lebanon is back on the map, and it has sent its private sector to say so. The agreements are frameworks rather than contracts, and the council still has to publish how it will work. But the direction is clear, and companies that already hold a UAE licence are the first in line to use it.
FAQ
What did the UAE delegation sign in Beirut in August 2026?
Four memoranda of understanding, according to WAM: one creating the Joint UAE-Lebanon Business Council, one between the Abu Dhabi Chamber and the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Chamber, and two signed by Elite Agro Holding with the American University of Beirut and with a Lebanese greenhouse producer. Economy Middle East reported a fifth memorandum involving the Ras Al Khaimah chamber. No contract values were published.
How large is trade between the UAE and Lebanon?
Non-oil trade between the UAE and Lebanon reached USD 4.2 billion, about AED 15.4 billion, in 2025. That is 35.6% more than in 2024 and, according to the UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, among the highest annual figures recorded between the two countries in the past 15 years.
What is the UAE-Lebanon Business Council and who can join?
It is a joint private-sector body created by a memorandum signed during the Beirut forum on 2026-08-26. Its stated tasks are facilitating investment, organising sector-focused business events, removing trade barriers and drawing up an investment road map for Lebanon. Membership terms have not been published yet; in the UAE, participation in country business councils normally requires a valid trade licence and chamber membership.
Can a foreign-owned UAE company trade with Lebanon?
Yes. A UAE free zone or mainland company with a trading, import-export or services licence can contract with Lebanese counterparties, ship goods via Jebel Ali or Khalifa Port and receive payment into its UAE bank account. The practical constraints are the bank’s compliance rules for Levant counterparties and the licence activities, so both should be checked before the first contract.
