Minister of Industry Joe Issa El Khoury has launched a new electronic platform offering digital services for industrial licensing and certificates, in close cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and with funding from the Government of Canada.
The launch took place as part of the activities accompanying the Second Lebanese Industrial Exhibition at Seaside Arena.
The ceremony was attended by Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon Gregory Galligan, UNDP Acting Resident Representative Thaer Shreidi, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Lebanon Alessandra Viezzer, Director General of Industry Adel Yachoui, President of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists Salim Zeenni, as well as Ministry of Industry officials, industrialists, experts and other stakeholders.
The initiative aims to replace traditional paper-based procedures, previously handled manually by ministry employees through direct communication with applicants, with fully electronic transactions. The platform is expected to speed up administrative processes, reduce the time and costs incurred by citizens, and allow applicants to track the progress of their requests online.
It also includes an electronic directory enabling users to identify industrial activity categories and the services available digitally.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts to accelerate the digital transformation of public services in the industrial sector, improve Lebanon’s business environment, support the recovery of productive sectors and strengthen their competitiveness.
Issa El Khoury: Digitalization to Enhance Efficiency and Transparency
Addressing the ceremony, Minister El Khoury said the launch was "not merely the introduction of a digital platform, but the establishment of a new approach to the way the ministry delivers its services to industrialists."
He noted that Lebanese industrialists face significant challenges but continue to produce, invest, innovate, create jobs and export Lebanese products worldwide.
"Our responsibility as a government is to facilitate their work, not make it more complicated," the minister said.
He stressed that the platform would allow industrialists to submit applications electronically, track their progress and benefit from simpler, faster and more transparent administrative procedures, with clearly defined and predictable processing timelines.
"We want industrialists to spend their time in their factories, developing their products and expanding their businesses, rather than in ministry corridors chasing transactions and signatures," he said.
He added that digital transformation goes beyond improving efficiency and accelerating procedures, as it also strengthens transparency and accountability and reinforces the principles of good governance.
Issa El Khoury said he was seeking to move away from an administration dependent on individuals towards a system based on clear rules, standardized procedures and measurable performance standards.
Such a system, he explained, would ensure that every step is traceable, delays can be identified and all applicants are treated according to the same rules.
"How can we ask our industrialists to keep pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) while the ministry itself continues to operate with the mindset of the First Industrial Revolution (Industry 1.0)?" he asked, stressing that modernizing public administration is an essential part of upgrading Lebanon’s industrial sector.
The minister thanked the Ministry of Industry team and all those involved in developing the platform and ensuring its launch.
"We are proving together that genuine administrative reform in Lebanon is possible and achievable. The role of the state is to create the conditions that enable the private sector to succeed," he concluded.
Canadian Ambassador Welcomes Digital Transformation Initiative
For his part, Canadian Ambassador Gregory Galligan expressed Canada’s pride in supporting the Ministry of Industry and Minister Issa El Khoury in advancing the digital transformation of industrial services, in partnership with the UNDP.
He stressed that businesses need systems that enable them to succeed, describing the launch of the platform as an important step in that direction.
The launch took place as part of the activities accompanying the Second Lebanese Industrial Exhibition at Seaside Arena.
The ceremony was attended by Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon Gregory Galligan, UNDP Acting Resident Representative Thaer Shreidi, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Lebanon Alessandra Viezzer, Director General of Industry Adel Yachoui, President of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists Salim Zeenni, as well as Ministry of Industry officials, industrialists, experts and other stakeholders.
The initiative aims to replace traditional paper-based procedures, previously handled manually by ministry employees through direct communication with applicants, with fully electronic transactions. The platform is expected to speed up administrative processes, reduce the time and costs incurred by citizens, and allow applicants to track the progress of their requests online.
It also includes an electronic directory enabling users to identify industrial activity categories and the services available digitally.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts to accelerate the digital transformation of public services in the industrial sector, improve Lebanon’s business environment, support the recovery of productive sectors and strengthen their competitiveness.
Issa El Khoury: Digitalization to Enhance Efficiency and Transparency
Addressing the ceremony, Minister El Khoury said the launch was "not merely the introduction of a digital platform, but the establishment of a new approach to the way the ministry delivers its services to industrialists."
He noted that Lebanese industrialists face significant challenges but continue to produce, invest, innovate, create jobs and export Lebanese products worldwide.
"Our responsibility as a government is to facilitate their work, not make it more complicated," the minister said.
He stressed that the platform would allow industrialists to submit applications electronically, track their progress and benefit from simpler, faster and more transparent administrative procedures, with clearly defined and predictable processing timelines.
"We want industrialists to spend their time in their factories, developing their products and expanding their businesses, rather than in ministry corridors chasing transactions and signatures," he said.
He added that digital transformation goes beyond improving efficiency and accelerating procedures, as it also strengthens transparency and accountability and reinforces the principles of good governance.
Issa El Khoury said he was seeking to move away from an administration dependent on individuals towards a system based on clear rules, standardized procedures and measurable performance standards.
Such a system, he explained, would ensure that every step is traceable, delays can be identified and all applicants are treated according to the same rules.
"How can we ask our industrialists to keep pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) while the ministry itself continues to operate with the mindset of the First Industrial Revolution (Industry 1.0)?" he asked, stressing that modernizing public administration is an essential part of upgrading Lebanon’s industrial sector.
The minister thanked the Ministry of Industry team and all those involved in developing the platform and ensuring its launch.
"We are proving together that genuine administrative reform in Lebanon is possible and achievable. The role of the state is to create the conditions that enable the private sector to succeed," he concluded.
Canadian Ambassador Welcomes Digital Transformation Initiative
For his part, Canadian Ambassador Gregory Galligan expressed Canada’s pride in supporting the Ministry of Industry and Minister Issa El Khoury in advancing the digital transformation of industrial services, in partnership with the UNDP.
He stressed that businesses need systems that enable them to succeed, describing the launch of the platform as an important step in that direction.
