Relationship dossier
Lebanon
United Arab Emirates
Relationship assessment
Humanitarian cooperation and renewed diplomatic engagement alongside a serious 2021 dispute
Lebanon toward United Arab Emirates
+15Lebanese authorities condemned attacks on the UAE in 2022. That public support occurred amid wider bilateral friction connected to the Yemen war and Lebanese minister George Kordahi’s comments.
United Arab Emirates toward Lebanon
+15The UAE provided humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, including after the 2020 Beirut port explosion. After downgrading ties in 2021, the UAE resumed diplomatic engagement and appointed an ambassador to Lebanon in 2023.
Overall relationship
+10The relationship includes concrete humanitarian cooperation and renewed diplomatic engagement, but was strained by the 2021 dispute over Kordahi’s comments on Yemen. These features point to a mixed relationship rather than a consistently close partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates have combined practical cooperation with serious diplomatic friction. Lebanese authorities condemned attacks on the UAE, while the UAE provided humanitarian assistance to Lebanon, including after the Beirut port explosion. Relations deteriorated in 2021 amid a dispute over Lebanese minister George Kordahi’s comments on the Yemen war; the UAE later resumed diplomatic engagement, appointing an ambassador to Lebanon in 2023.
Areas of tension
- The 2021 diplomatic dispute over George Kordahi’s comments on the Yemen war and the UAE’s subsequent downgrading of ties.
Key developments
The UAE provided humanitarian assistance to Lebanon following the Beirut port explosion.
The UAE downgraded diplomatic ties with Lebanon amid a dispute over George Kordahi’s comments on the Yemen war.
The UAE appointed an ambassador to Lebanon, resuming diplomatic engagement.
Lebanese authorities condemned attacks on the UAE.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation beyond humanitarian assistance are unclear.
- The extent to which diplomatic engagement resumed after 2023 is uncertain.