October 18, 2026
Minister of Industry, Joe Issa Al-Khoury, affirmed that Lebanon is “a bird flying with two wings: resident and spread throughout the world,” stressing the importance of constant communication with expatriate Lebanese who were forced by crises, wars, and economic conditions to leave their homeland, recalling the saying that affirms that “removing the Lebanese from Lebanon is impossible, and that the homeland remains firmly rooted in the conscience of its children, even if they are born and live outside it.”
This came during a reception held in his honor at the headquarters of the Lebanese Embassy in Paris, at the invitation of the Lebanese Ambassador to France, Rabie Al-Shaer, and in the presence of a number of members of the community and participants in the “SIAL” International Exhibition for Food and Spirits Industries.
Regarding the political issue, Minister Issa Al-Khoury saw that “the region is heading towards peace despite the difficult circumstances,” adding that “the path to peace may be fraught with wars, but it will be achieved in the end.” He called on expatriates to prepare for the next stage and to be “active partners in investing and contributing to Lebanon’s economic advancement.”
In his reading of the economic scene, the Minister of Industry stressed the necessity of distinguishing between the state and the private sector, indicating that “the state faces serious challenges, debts, and financial problems and needs foreign aid, while the private sector only needs investments and investors.” He stressed that Lebanon’s history has proven that the private sector is the creator of prosperity, calling on the state to assume its legislative and regulatory role to allow institutions to grow and compete, considering that the private sector constitutes a “basic lever” capable of achieving rapid advancement compared to addressing the state’s challenges that require a longer time. In this context, he pointed to the change in the way most of the current ministers – coming from the private sector – deal with administrative matters, and their continuous endeavor to explore opportunities for international cooperation and partnership to support the national economy.
Issa Al-Khoury described Lebanese industrialists and exporters as “the real resistance to their continued production and export,” pointing to their contribution to bringing more than 3 billion dollars annually into the country through foreign currencies. On the other hand, he warned that the crisis of the Lebanese economy lies in the huge deficit in the trade balance, which is estimated at about 17 billion dollars annually, explaining that imports amounted to about 21 billion dollars last year, compared to exports that did not exceed 3.5 billion dollars.
To address this gap, he stressed the need to work on two parallel paths: the first is to increase industrial production, especially alternative goods for imports, and the second is to open new foreign markets for Lebanese industry. In this context, he revealed the near completion of a specialized study funded by the European Union that identifies the promising global markets for Lebanese products, stressing that its results will soon be at the disposal of the Industrialists’ Association to benefit from them.
At the end of his speech, the Minister thanked Ambassador Rabie Al-Shaer for his efforts in consolidating Lebanese-French relations and activating cooperation to provide support to Lebanon, in addition to his prominent role in bringing together members of the community and strengthening ties between them.
