BEIRUT, Sept 25 (NNN-NNA) — Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, said that, Lebanon will very soon place scanners on all land and maritime crossings, along the Lebanon-Syria borders to control smuggling.
“Smuggling from Syria has increased to around 40 percent, after the civil war subsided in the neighbouring country, which is unacceptable,” Hariri said, during a conference held in Beirut, to tackle topics related to agriculture and the difficulties faced by Lebanese farmers, including threat of smuggling.
Hariri said, the presence of illegal smuggling is one of the problems facing the agricultural sector in Lebanon, as the smuggled agro products from Syria compete with local produce.
Meanwhile, the prime minister said that Lebanon cannot close its market to foreign products because this will harm the country’s exports.
However, he said that some of the free trade agreements must also be revised in favour of Lebanon.
Hariri said, the Lebanese government, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank, will work on a complete strategy for the overhaul of the sector.– NNN-NNA
