News

In collaboration with the Federation of the Municipalities of Rashaya and West Beqaa, the Generations for Building Peace association launched last Friday a campaign ‘Haqqi Sharik’ (My Right to Participate) which seeks to strengthen women’s participation in municipal councils, as well as support women running for the 2016 municipality elections. The campaign is the outcome of coordination between Sanabel al Ataa Charity for Educational and Human Issues, the National Association for Women Providers in the Rural Areas and the Environment Gathering in Rashaya Constituency. The launching ceremony took place at Al Bireh town hall in Rashayya under the patronage of Health Minister Wael Abu Faoor represented by Aref Mghames and in the presence of several women activists from the Beqaa area. (Al Mustaqbal 16 February, 2016)

 

The Minister of Economy and Trade Alan Hakim called yesterday for the enactment of a private-public partnership law as an optimal mechanism to finance and properly manage the infrastructure, motivate economy, create jobs and cuts the general budget’s deficit. And while he stressed that infrastructure projects, particularly in the sectors of electricity, water, renewable energy, roads and environment contribute by 7% to the growth of the economy, Hakim revealed that the plan to implement the above partnership in the electricity sector has been delayed due to political reasons. The minister was speaking during the opening of the ‘Public-Private Partnership Projects Opens Up New Horizons’ conference organized by the Higher Council for Privatisation (HCP) and the Alumni Caucus of the French HEC University for Graduate Business Studies at the Higher Institute of Business (ESA) in Beirut. On the occasion, HCP general director Ziad Hayek considered the said partnership as the headline for the recovery of the national economy pointing out that “due to the size and value of the huge investments involved, the partnership scheme will undoubtedly lead to the massive creation of jobs that are much needed to counter the persistent unemployment crisis.”  Hayek estimated that the proposed projects could be expected to secure over 200 thousand new jobs over a period of 5 years, including 80 thousands jobs for fresh graduates. Similarly, the head of the World Bank’s Public-Private Partnerships, Lawrance Carter, urged the Lebanese Government to speed up the approval of necessary legislations that will allow the implementation of new investment initiatives in partnership between the two sectors, and pledged the support of his organisation to energy and power projects. Carter speech came during a luncheon held in his honor in Beirut, where he met a number of heads of parliamentary committees and their members, at the eve of the conference on private-public partnership. (As Safir, An Nahar, Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, February 17, 2016)

 

L’Orient Le Jour published yesterday a special article on the state of chocolate industry in Lebanon highlighting its strong performance despite challenges facing the industrial sector in general. According to the latest figures published by the Lebanese Customs, exports of made-in-Lebanon chocolate were geared to the following Arab countries: Saudi Arabia (1496 tons), Jordan (502), Qatar (484), Iraq (320), UAE (300) and Kuwait (202 tons), representing nearly 81% of total sales in 2015. 

L’Orient Le Jour spoke to a number of owners of chocolate and candy factories to get further insight on the subject. The head of the marketing department at Souchet chocolate factory, Mohammed Dandan, said Saudi Arabia is the largest market of this domestic product. Likewise, Liliane Hayek, Pralino quality officer, confirmed that about 90% of sales are headed to the countries of the region, however the PR director at Ethel factory, Joelle Saadeh, pointed out that consumption of chocolate in Lebanon is gradually declining. 

The newspaper linked the success of the chocolate industry to its capacity to adapt to the tastes of different consumers. However, it also outlined the existing challenges facing the sector, notably the closing of the Syrian-Jordanian borders and the high production cost, particularly of electric power as a result of frequent cuts. It went on to say that electricity charges represent 15% of total production cost for some factories in Beirut, but only 3% for the Ethel sweet factory in Zahle that benefits from 24/24 power service. For her part Hayek expressed serious concerns towards the growing competition from recently relocated Syrian factories that are now operating in Lebanon and are able to sell at more competitive prices. (L’Orient Le Jour, February 15, 2016)

 

In a feature published today, As Safir daily highlighted the booming and expansion of open popular markets in the Beqaa area as a way to counter the deteriorating economic conditions.  Bazaars have been known for decades in the eastern Lebanon region and visiting them has become a common tradition and a weekly outing for many families, the newspaper noted. Al Marj Monday Souk for example, is considered one of the most ancient marketplaces in Beqaa (over 90 years old). Scrutinizing the development of this phenomenon, As Safir outlined that the origin of souks can be traced to earlier markets for trading in livestock. Gradually, these markets developed into a full fledged agricultural market displaying a variety of domestic produces, mainly potatoes, onions, garlic, herbs, apples, pears, quince and many other fruit items. Today’s business has further expanded to cover additional merchandises such as fabrics, clothes, home accessories, dairy products, traditional medicine, groceries, foodstuffs and mouneh products. The newspaper went on to note that the recent Syrian refugee crisis and its negative fallbacks on Syrian households has favored such markets which now thrive with Syrian buyers and sellers who find in such bazaars an opportunity to mitigate their harsh living situation. Presently, the newspaper concluded, refugees represent over 70% of total visitors.

As Safir, February 16, 2016

 

The Syndicate of Lebanese Food Industries (SLFI) appealed to the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) to support its participation at next week’s Gulfood 2016 Exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Center. The event which annually hosts over 5 thousand exhibitors and receives some 90 thousand visitors from 160 countries around the globe, is expected this year to witness the participation of some 53 Lebanese companies, of which 40 companies will display inside the Lebanese pavilion and the remaining in other sectoral pavilions. In the same vein, IDAL, Nabil Itani, noted yesterday while receiving of an SLFI delegation headed by Ahmad Hoteit, that the food industry is one of the promising sectors in the country because it possesses the elements and uptime for growth. Itani stressed the need to assist in the international promotion and marketing as well as establish new outlets for the industry’s production. He also pointed out that the Gulfood exhibition has become a regular hub attracting major food industries of the world and that Lebanon has started to carve its strong presence in the regional and international markets. He  lauded the visible growth accomplished by the sector as a result of keeping up with the internationally-recognized standards of production, packaging and exporting. Similarly, Hoteit underlined the importance of the state’s contribution in this respect and hailed IDAL’s supportive role at all global exhibition venues. Finally, Hoteit called for the setting of an annual calendar of external exhibitions and events so as to attract the greatest number of Lebanese exhibitors. (Al Diyar, February 16, 2016)

 

The President of the Phalange Kataeb Party, Sami Gemayel said that women and girls have been denied credit and recognition of their achievements and innovation in the field of sciences, pointing out that the rate of women who received the Noble Prize did not exceed 3%. Gemayel who was speaking yesterday at the UN headquarters in New York on the occasion of the “International Day for Women and Girls in Science”, noted that while the number of Lebanese women with university degrees in the science discipline outweigh that of men, males still dominate research, as well as senior professional posts at various positions in the teaching of science and engineering in Lebanon, The Lebanese MP also referred to the “gradual decrease in women representation as we go up in the professional echelons,” lamenting the loss of women outstanding talents and urging men to play a more active role in the promotion and development of women’s potentials. Gemayel outlined the outcome of a recent study which indicated that the ratio of academic women holders of Grade D accounted for 61% against 23% of Grade A holders, (the latter is the highest grade which normally allows its holder to do scientific research), adding that only two out of 42 teaching institutions in Lebanon are headed by a woman. Gemayel also pointed out to the various challenges facing women scientists in Lebanon, namely common stereotypes, social norms, defective legal system and inequality in career promotion and salary. He also mentioned the absence of scientific research and development centers and scarcity of jobs in the field. Finally Gemayel put forward a number of recommendations which he considered as feasible. For more information: http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/205888. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, Al Diyar, February, 12 & 13, 2016)

 

The Minister of Tourism Michel Pharaon pledged during his visit yesterday to the ‘Religious Pilgrimage and Tourism’ association for Beit Anaya- Harissa that religious tourism will be one of the main pillars of his Ministry for the year 2016. Commending the cooperation between the tourism department and the above association, Pharaon said it should help in identifying existing opportunities and sharing with the world the landmark religious sites of Lebanon. To this effect, Pharaon announced the holding of an upcoming conference of Arab tourism ministers and ministers in Diaspora at the end of next May. During his visit, Pharaon pointed out to the expansion of rural tourism which he reportedly worked on boosting since he first became minister, noting the high occupancy rate achieved at the various guest houses across Lebanon during the months of July until October of last year. Finally, Pharaon  noted that rural tourism was in the past considered something of a fashion, while he saw it as a strategy to save the tourism sector which declined by 35% between 2011 and 2014. )Al Mustaqbal, February 15, 2016(

 

The Chair of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL), Nabil Itani, pointed out that the integration in 2012 of the domestic olive oil into “Agri-Plus” export program has achieved good results, doubling the size of exports by 231% (from 3238 tons in 2011 to 7521 tons in 2015). Itani’s statement came during a workshop organized by IDAL in Hasbaya area, to clarify the mechanism of implementation of the repayment of the USD7.5 million-worth Chinese loan through the export of made-in-Lebanon products (such as olive oil, beverages, nuts, dried and canned fruits and jams). He went on to add that Lebanese olive oil exports succeeded in entering unprecedented foreign markets, notably the Americas and Australia, and that is despite growing international competition. (Al Hayat, Al Mustaqbal, February 15, 2015)

 

UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, appointed Lebanese head of the International Committee for the Preservation of Tyre, Maha Khalil Chalabi, as its new good will ambassador, to be officially announced during a ceremony on February 17 at the Organization’s headquarters in Paris. In her introduction of Chalabi, Bokova said that the Tyre committee was founded back in May 1980 in Paris to support the implementation of several programs, notably ‘The International UNESCO Campaign for Tyre and its Environs’. The latter was launched in 1988 for the rehabilitation and socio-cultural development of the southern city. In 2008, the ‘Tyre Foundation’ was created for the purpose of launching an open museum and expo in the City known as ‘Europe, the Daughter of Tyre’. Another of her achievements Bokova mentioned was the establishment of ‘The League of the Canaanite, Phoenician and Punic Cities’ which covers a wide network of cities sharing the same history in order to activate the dialogue of civilizations and promote peace. In 1984, Chalabi published her thesis at the Sorbonne entitled ‘West/East Relationships Analyzed through Tyre Travelers during the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries’. In 2008, her book ‘The Phoenician Art: New Expressions’ was released on which she invites readers to discover an art through the  history, culture, crafts, beliefs as well as the myths of its nations . (An Nahar, February 11, 2016)

 

As Safir daily newspaper published on February 6, an interview with music composer and professor at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Rula Baaqline, highlighting her successful musicology career. As such, Baaqlini stated that she studied the history of music for 10 years at Saint Joseph University and another year at Notre Damme University and was recommended by her advisor to follow up musical composition in the United States. She applied to New Orleans University and received a scholarship.  She later moved to Texas Tech University where she got her doctorate degree in composition and returned to Lebanon in 2012. Baaqlini told the newspaper that a person who does not make it in his/her country, can never succeed abroad, noting that she is not well known in Lebanon because the public here is no longer a fan of classical music. “Musical composition is often classified as a male profession,” Baaqlini added, “and women composers or orchestra conductors are only an exception.” “When I first said I wanted to become a musical composer, nobody took me seriously,” she said, adding: “in Lebanon it is difficult to be a woman, and even more if you want to become a composer.” Finally, Baaqlini expressed her hope to be recognized one day as an international composer who thrived to develop a fusion of classical and oriental music. (As Safir, February 6, 2016)