Turkey has lifted the ban on importing scrap metals from Lebanon, which could secure about $100 million annually for Lebanon, according to Minister of Economy and Trade, Amin Salam.
Salam said that during his meeting in Ankara with Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Muş, Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the steps needed to increase trade levels were discussed, according to local media reports.
“We have attached importance to putting the free trade agreement into effect. And we agreed to hold a meeting of the joint higher committee in Turkey at the earliest. On the recommendation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish side expressed the readiness of Turkish companies to start implementing important infrastructure projects, including the reconstruction of the Port of Beirut,” he said.
The lifting of the ban on exporting scrap metals to Turkey came as a result the bilateral meetings.
The embargo was imposed in 2018. Lebanon exported to Turkey more than 40 percent of the total exported scrap metal, securing approximately $100 million annually for the Lebanese economy.
Salam said, “Minister Mehmet Mus informed me that Lebanon can immediately return to exporting scrap metal. This positive initiative from Turkey supports the Lebanese economy at a very delicate time in which Lebanon appeals to all sister countries to support it to get out of its acute crisis on the path of recovery and reform towards the new Lebanon, a destination for FDI, prosperity and brilliance.”