80,000 Lebanese immigrated to the Gulf between 2020 and 2022

The total number of Lebanese residing in the Arab Gulf was 550,000 before the crisis—more than 300,000 in KSA alone.   

Al-Khatib stressed that the Gulf countries are the main economic doorway for Lebanon and the first factor in social stability for Lebanon.  
  
Remittances from expats to Lebanon have been estimated at $7 billion; about 65 percent of these remittances are from the Gulf countries. The most significant percentage is from KSA.   

Al-Khatib added that 65 percent of Lebanese exports, worth about $4 billion annually, are to the Gulf. He also reported that historically, more than 85 percent of foreign investments in Lebanon are from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.   

In 2010, before the start of the war in Syria and its economic and political repercussions in Lebanon, tourism revenues in Lebanon amounted to nearly $10 billion, more than 70 percent of which came from Gulf tourists.

Regarding Saudi Arabia's decision to ban importing Lebanese vegetables and fruits, al-Khatib stated that the Saudi authorities took this measure because the Lebanese authorities did not fulfill their duties by implementing strict measures to prevent drug smuggling.

Al-Khatib stressed that the Saudi decision to prevent imports from Lebanon is only to protect the Saudi people from the harm of smuggled drugs, and the most significant proof is that many Lebanese factories have opened branches in Gulf countries.