BEIRUT, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs Hassan Mourad on Tuesday called for negotiating with Syria to reduce fees for exporting Lebanese products through Syria.
"We should be able to export our products to Arab countries through Syria. This is why we should negotiate for an immediate reduction in fees paid for exporting through Syria," Mourad was quoted by the National News Agency as saying.
Mourad also said that the only way to reduce the country's trade deficit is by exporting Lebanon's agricultural and industrial products.
"This is our responsibility as a government," he said.
According to Blominvest Bank, Lebanon's trade deficit registered a year-on-year increase of 1.73 percent, hitting 17.03 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2018.
