The Minister of Economy and Trade Amin Salam and the Fair Trade Association in Lebanon represented by its President Samir Abdel-Malik, signed a memorandum of cooperation.

This cooperation comes within the framework of the project to Support Business Innovation and Promote Exports for Lebanon (BIEEL), which was launched by the American Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and implemented by the Fair Trade Association in Lebanon with the aim of providing support to local producers in the food and agricultural sector, assisting them in developing their businesses, increasing their exports, and facilitating their access to foreign markets.

To achieve the goals, both parties will cooperate in promoting Lebanese agricultural products and specialty foods by organizing a number of international fairs and trade missions to promising markets, in addition to facilitating exports and helping local producers to expand.

Both parties will also cooperate in building the capacity of the beneficiaries by organizing workshops on several topics, including food safety, export standards, and others. In addition, the cooperation includes developing a national quality label for Lebanese agricultural and food products, designing and defining the standards required, and establishing a working mechanism through which producers can take advantage of this service.

This step, given the current situation the country is facing, is considered vital to support the agro-food sector in Lebanon, boost the Lebanese economy and ensure the survival of small producers and cooperatives.