Saudi Arabia to lift travel ban on Lebanon after government formation

Beirut, Dec 27 (IANS) Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari said on Thursday that the kingdom will remove the travel ban on Lebanon upon the formation of a Lebanese government, the media reported."We are working on strengthening Lebanese-Saudi ties in different areas," Bukhari was quoted by the National News Agency as saying. Bukhari's remarks came during his meeting at the embassy with a delegation from the Lebanese Business and Investment Council headed by its President Mohamad Chahine, Xinhua news agency reported. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait in last November warned their citizens against travelling to Lebanon, amid a Lebanese-Saudi crisis sparked by Prime Minister Saad Hariri's controversial resignation announcement in Riyadh which he rescinded soon after.The warning affected the tourism sector in Lebanon as the number of Gulf tourists in the country dropped by 40 per cent, according to Caretaker Tourism Minister Avedis Guidanian.
--IANS soni/sed