Minister of Economy and Trade, Mansour Bteish, and Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Hassan Mourad, arrived in Istanbul on Thursday morning on top of a ministerial delegation to address issues of common interest, mainly "developing trade exchange between Lebanon and Turkey in general and solving the pending export problems."

Upon his arrival in Istanbul, Bteish said "I have chosen Turkey to be my first visit, upon receiving my ministerial duties, because of the importance attached by the government to the development of trade relations between the two countries and in view of the leading and important economic role played by this country in the region."

Mourad, in turn, said that his "strategic vision in the field of developing foreign trade will be unified and integrated with the Ministry of Economy and Trade, and this visit to Turkey (...) comes to emphasize the serious and fundamental start of the complementary policies that we intend to devote."

It is to note that the delegation had held a meeting in Beirut at the Ministry of Economy and Trade, in the presence of Turkish Ambassador Hakan Cakil, and agreed on the main topics to be discussed in Turkey, especially during the meeting with the Turkish Minister of Trade.