Saudi Ambassador, IMF Delegation Discuss Conditions for Lebanon’s Recovery

  Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon Walid Al-Bukhari met with the visiting IMF delegation, headed by Ernesto Ramirez Rigo. (Markaziah Agency)
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon Walid Al-Bukhari met with the visiting IMF delegation, headed by Ernesto Ramirez Rigo. (Markaziah Agency)
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Saudi Ambassador, IMF Delegation Discuss Conditions for Lebanon’s Recovery

  Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon Walid Al-Bukhari met with the visiting IMF delegation, headed by Ernesto Ramirez Rigo. (Markaziah Agency)
Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon Walid Al-Bukhari met with the visiting IMF delegation, headed by Ernesto Ramirez Rigo. (Markaziah Agency)

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Beirut Walid Al-Bukhari discussed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation the necessary conditions for Lebanon's economic recovery.

Al-Bukhari met with the visiting IMF delegation, headed by Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, on Wednesday at his residence in Yarzeh, east of Beirut.

Talks during the meeting touched on the overall developments in Lebanon and the region, the conditions for recovery that the country needs to overcome its political and economic crisis, as well as other issues of common concern.

The delegation met earlier with the chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee in the Lebanese Parliament, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, and the head of the Administration and Justice Committee, MP George Adwan. Discussions focused on the financial and economic situation and the path towards the agreement with the IMF.

In comments following the meeting, Kanaan said: “The two sides agreed on the need to elect a president for the republic as a starting point for restructuring the institutions and producing a homogeneous government team that has a clear road map for financial and economic rescue and implementation of the required reforms.”

He continued: “It is not only related to passing laws to launch the agreement with the IMF, but, more importantly, the possibility of respecting and implementing them to restore local and international confidence, and thus investments.”

In this regard, Kanaan pointed to the need to adopt a different approach and a new monetary policy within the government and the Banque du Liban, stressing the importance of an independent judiciary that “exercises its role in the event of any discrepancy in government work and the Lebanese administration.”



Saudi Interior Ministry Arrests 17 for Transporting Individuals Without Hajj Permits

Muslims perform the Tawaf (circumambulation) around Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, at al-Masjid al-Haram, during the Hajj 2025 pilgrimage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 05 June 2025. (EPA)
Muslims perform the Tawaf (circumambulation) around Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, at al-Masjid al-Haram, during the Hajj 2025 pilgrimage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 05 June 2025. (EPA)
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Saudi Interior Ministry Arrests 17 for Transporting Individuals Without Hajj Permits

Muslims perform the Tawaf (circumambulation) around Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, at al-Masjid al-Haram, during the Hajj 2025 pilgrimage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 05 June 2025. (EPA)
Muslims perform the Tawaf (circumambulation) around Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, at al-Masjid al-Haram, during the Hajj 2025 pilgrimage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 05 June 2025. (EPA)

The Saudi Ministry of Interior's Hajj Security Forces apprehended 17 individuals - three expatriates and 14 citizens - for violating Hajj regulations by transporting 109 individuals without valid Hajj permits at Makkah entry points .
Administrative rulings were issued by the seasonal administrative committees against both transporters and those transported, said the Saudi Press Agency.

Penalties imposed included imprisonment, fines of up to SAR 100,000, public naming of violators, deportation of expatriate offenders with a 10-year re-entry ban, and legal proceedings for the confiscation of vehicles used in the violations. Individuals attempting to perform Hajj without a permit face a fine of up to SAR 20,000.

The ministry urged all citizens and residents to comply with Hajj regulations to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims performing their rites.