BEIRUT: A Hezbollah minister will head to Damascus Wednesday to meet Syrian officials and look at ways to strengthen economic ties between Syria and Lebanon.
“Caretaker Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan will meet with Syrian officials to discuss ... strengthening trade ties and to look at ways to send Lebanese products to Syria and into Jordan, Iraq and the Gulf countries after the opening of the Nassib Crossing,” the state-run National News Agency reported Monday.
Hajj Hasan will be in Syria to participate in a conference for businessmen and investors in the country. “We are neighbors and brothers, and we have many common interests,” Hajj Hasan said during a conference Monday. He called on “Lebanese businessmen to realize that the reconstruction of Syria is an Arab necessity and participation is in Lebanon’s interest.” The Hezbollah minister also said that Lebanon will be at the “heart of Syria's reconstruction process.”
Hajj Hasan and then-Agriculture Minister Ghazi Zeaiter headed to Damascus in August 2017 to take part in the Damascus International Fair. The visit was the first by Lebanese ministers since the Syrian conflict began in 2011. According to ministerial sources, the 2017 move was not coordinated with Prime Minister Saad Hariri - who has since become Prime Minister-designate - in order to avert a major split within the Cabinet. The ministers were visiting Syria with a delegation of Lebanese businessmen after receiving an invitation from the Syrian Economy and Trade Ministry.