Lebanon eyes role in IMEC: Can Beirut and Tripoli ports become key hubs for the new trade route?

Report by Bassam Abou Zeid, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Lebanon has historically been a core part of the Mediterranean shipping network linking the region’s ports with those of Europe. Beirut later became a major hub, attracting a significant share of trade and transit traffic.

Today, Lebanon is seeking to reclaim that role and sees the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as an opportunity to do so.

According to a map presented by French presidential envoy to Lebanon Gérard Mestrallet, the corridor would run from India to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, through the Port of Haifa, and onward to three European ports in Greece, Italy and France.

Egypt and Cyprus have also joined the project, and Lebanese officials say the country has the necessary qualifications to be included.

The French envoy overseeing the file toured key infrastructure facilities that could enable Lebanon’s participation, most notably the Port of Beirut and the Port of Tripoli, where French shipping company CMA CGM operates.

He also held a series of meetings with Lebanese officials, who expressed enthusiasm for joining what they described as a strategic project. French interest was also evident, rooted in France’s historical ties with Lebanon and its efforts to secure a steady foothold in the country at this stage.

Still, questions remain about whether Lebanese and French enthusiasm alone will be sufficient to secure Lebanon’s inclusion.

While the project is primarily economic in nature, it also carries broader political dimensions across the region, without, for example, requiring Lebanon to normalize relations with Israel as a condition for joining.

If Lebanon joins, the Port of Beirut would serve as a shipping point for goods transported along the corridor to European ports, while remaining the country’s main gateway for imports and exports and preserving its independence from the Port of Haifa.

The French envoy outlined the nature and objectives of the initiative, as France prepares to engage with key decision-making countries involved in the project to convey Lebanon’s interest in joining.

President Joseph Aoun has tasked Lebanon’s public works minister with coordinating with the French side, amid hopes that a clearer picture will emerge in the near future.