Lebanon and Syria Seek Reset in Economic Ties at Beirut Investment Forum

Dozens of officials and business figures from Lebanon and Syria gathered in Beirut on Wednesday for the Lebanese Syrian Investment Forum, where the two neighbours explored ways to strengthen economic cooperation.

The meeting marks a further step in improving ties between the countries, which had remained cold throughout five decades of Assad family rule in Syria, a period that ended in December 2024. During those years, Syria maintained a 29-year military presence in Lebanon, and later, when Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group sent thousands of fighters to support then president Bashar Assad.

Addressing the conference, Syria's Minister of Economy and Industry, Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar, said both countries had paid a heavy price over past decades. He described their geographic position — which should have been a source of strength — as having become a source of complication, and called for a relationship grounded in the sovereignty of both states and the independence of their decisions. The national and economic interests of the two peoples, he said, should serve as the compass.

Al-Shaar also noted that the war had been a tragedy by every measure, yet it drove thousands of Syrians into new markets where they set up companies, built networks and gained experience. What often began as a necessity for survival, he said, gradually turned into economic and commercial capital.

Lebanon's Minister of Economy and Trade, Amer Bisat, said the conference carried significance beyond economics and investment. He described the moment as an opportunity to establish clearer and more balanced relations based on respect for sovereignty, good neighbourliness and shared interests. Lebanon, he said, wants to see a stable, secure and prosperous Syria, just as a stable and prosperous Lebanon is in Syria's interest. The goal, he added, is to turn the position of the two countries into a platform for production, trade and investment.

The forum follows a recent improvement in relations between the two nations and Lebanon's release of scores of Syrian prisoners. Lebanon itself has been mired in a historic economic crisis since 2019, rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement.