When big countries fled from Lebanon in fear of civil war, India remained there.

The situation in Lebanon is continuously worsening amid Israeli attacks. Many countries including the US have issued advisories to their citizens asking them to leave the country. Indians also live in Lebanon. Not only this, Indian soldiers are also deployed on the Lebanon-Israel border. There are about 4 thousand Indians in Lebanon and about 600 Indian soldiers are deployed on the Israel-Lebanon border under the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) mission in Lebanon.

India's relations with Lebanon have a long history. India has been present in Lebanon during its most difficult times. India also writes this on the official website of its Ministry of External Affairs. This is not the first time that the situation in Lebanon has deteriorated. Between 1975 and 1990, Lebanon saw the worst period in its history when civil war was raging there.

When everyone left Lebanon, India stood firm.

In April 1975, Lebanon was plunged into a deadly civil war that lasted until 1990. The civil war pitted the country's various militias against the Lebanese government, some of which were fighting each other as well as the government. As a result of the war, about 150,000 people were killed and about one million people were displaced from their homes.

The aftermath of a car bomb explosion in Beirut on August 8, 1986 (AFP/Khalil Dehaene)

This war was so terrible that most of the countries' diplomatic missions in Lebanon were closed. Major Western countries like the US closed their consulates and recalled their officials. India kept its consulate open in Lebanon even in such difficult times, although India's consulate was also closed for a very short time from 5 August to 16 October 1989. India presents this to the world as a close and strong relationship with Lebanon.

India Lebanon Relations

Diplomatic relations between India and Lebanon were established in 1954. India-Lebanon relations are anchored in shared commonalities, including a written constitution, and a government based on fundamental freedoms and human rights, in addition to cultural similarities.

Indian politicians have been visiting Lebanon from time to time. After the establishment of relations, the then Prime Minister Pandit Nehru visited Lebanon. In 2022, Dr. Ausaf Saeed, Secretary (CPV&OIA), and Dr. Pradeep Rajpurohit, Joint Secretary (WANA) visited Lebanon from 1-4 October 2022.

Lebanon India Business

During the financial year 2022-23, the total trade between India and Lebanon was $595 million, of which India's exports to Lebanon were $403 million and India's imports from Lebanon were $92 million. India mainly exports chemicals, pearls, precious stones and metals, machinery, textiles, plastics, etc. to Lebanon, while imports from Lebanon include base metals and their products, miscellaneous manufactured goods, etc. There is a lot of potential for increasing trade and investment between the two countries. The mission has conducted more than 15 business programs during the last financial year.