REPORT: Cabinet tasks Agriculture minister Shehayeb with following up on stranded Lebanese truckers case

The Lebanese cabinet convened on Wednesday at the Grand Serail under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Tammam Salam, with regular items on its agenda.

Following the session, Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said that the cabinet tasked Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayeb with following up on the case of Lebanese truck drivers who have been stranded on the Syrian-Jordanian border since last week.

Jreij added that Shehayeb will hold contacts with the Jordanian and Saudi Arabian embassies to discuss the issue.

Prior to the session, Minister Shehayeb revealed that ministers have decided to request the support of maritime shipping, through the Finance Ministry by means of ferry rentals.

For his part, Economy and Trade Minister Alain Hakim stressed that the solution to this issue lies in the aforementioned suggestions in a bid to facilitate product exports.

On Tuesday, three Lebanese truck drivers returned to Lebanon after they were left stranded on the Syrian-Jordanian border last week.

The state-run National News Agency identified the drivers as Ali Chehade, Youssef al-Mohammed and Abdul Halim Mahmoud Abdullah, who all hail from the northern Akkar district.

The agency added that the fate of a fourth driver, Bader Ahmad Alwan, remains unknown.

At least 30 drivers were stranded on the Syrian-Jordanian border's free zone last Wednesday after they crossed the border, as a group of rebels, backed by the al-Nusra Front, seized control of it following clashes with Syrian troops.

The move led Amman to close the Nasib crossing, which is the only functioning crossing between Jordan and Syria and is considered a vital gateway for Syria's government and for Syrian, Lebanese and Jordanian trade.

Around six of the drivers returned to Lebanon on Monday, one day after eight were released.