The infamous pomegranate drug shipment that reached Saudi Arabia from Lebanon has further undermined the Kingdom‘s trust, as well as that of other Gulf countries, in the crisis-hit country.
After banning the import of produce from Lebanon, Saudi Arabia‘s message to the Lebanese authorities was sharp and clear: strict measures to stop “the systematic drug smuggling operations against the Kingdom.”
The Lebanese meeting to discuss this matter followed quickly, and it resulted in several measures aimed at curbing these operations.
However, informed political sources have since told the Al-Anbaa newspaper that the meeting was “disappointing” rather than reassuring to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The sources cited an absence of reassuring stringent measures that would signal that what had happened would not happen again under any circumstance.
Last week’s drug smuggling incident is not the first to be detected in Saudi Arabia and traced back to Lebanon. However, it did prompt a response from the Saudi authorities that further threatens Lebanon’s economic stability.
96% of Lebanon’s produce exports ($55 million annually) go to Arab countries. Failing to take decisive action against the drug smuggling operations that target these countries could prove to be very costly, as Lebanon is currently in desperate need of sources of hard currency.