Nabil Itani, chairman of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon.

DEARBORN — During a recent trip to the United States, Nabil Itani, chairman of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) conveyed a message to the Lebanese community that now is the right time to invest in their home country.

Itani visited New York City as part of a delegation with the prime minister of Lebanon to the U.N. General Assembly to participate in the Lebanese Diaspora Energy (LDE) conference. LDE is an annual event held to enhance relations with Lebanon and its citizens abroad in networking and investment opportunities. The conference is held under the patronage of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.

Itani was then invited to Metro Detroit, where he was hosted by Ned Fawaz, president of the Lebanese International Business Council. The organization held a dinner for him at Habib’s Cuisine on Sunday, September 18.

In an exclusive interview with The AANews, Itani cited Lebanon’s potential for investments, with oil, gas and the role it will play in Syria’s urgent rebuilding as incentives to do business in the country.

“Our mission now is to be one of the economic players in the region,” Itani said. “We are encouraging investments and trade with Lebanon and the countries Lebanese people are living in.”

Established in 1994, IDAL is a national investment promotion agency that aims to promote Lebanon as a key investment destination and to attract, facilitate and retain investments in the country.

Itani was appointed the chairman of the board in 2004 by former Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karameh.

With a population of 4 million, it is estimated that an additional 12 million Lebanese nationals have dispersed to other countries. While many of them make annual returns to their homeland to vacation, IDAL is aiming to lure them back as economic investors through various incentives.

IDAL is offering business support services for investors in numerous sectors, including agriculture, industrial, tourism, medicine, communications, technology and media.

Itani said many of these sectors are already far developed and would benefit even more from the contribution of Lebanese nationals.

Packages and tax exemptions are also offered to investors depending on how many jobs they create and how much they invest in Lebanon.

Geographically, Lebanon can very well be the link between the Middle East and Europe, as well as a center hub for import and export trade with the West.

“Lebanon can be in a very competitive advantage to be the connection in the Middle East region,” Itani said. “Our mission now is to target where our people are living now and encourage them to develop their businesses here and in their homeland.”

IDAL is also focused on attracting young entrepreneurs to Lebanon by offering an interest free loan to investors in the information technology sector. Investors would have an opportunity to receive a loan from the Lebanese National Bank to start up their own companies in the high tech industry.

IDAL is targeting Lebanese nationals in Michigan, New York, Germany and nations in South America with a high concentration of Lebanese residents, such as Brazil.

Itani said part of the goal of his visit to the U.S. was to also get American companies to outsource services to Lebanon.

“We have companies on the international standards that can provide services,” he said. “That’s especially true in the I.T. sector, where Lebanon can offer its services to manufacturing plants. We encourage all kinds of opportunities. This not only benefits their homeland, but also the countries they are living in.”

Itani said despite the business benefits Lebanon has to offer, IDAL is met with challenges over the perception of the country and its place in the war-torn Middle East. In recent years, tourism has seen significant growth in the country, but that fact is barely depicted in the media.

“Let’s be frank, what’s happening in the Middle East area is affecting the image of all the countries,” Itani said. “We are suffering now from a negative perception. The international media is covering only the conflicts in the area and not covering the positive things.”

However, Itani said that despite these challenges, Lebanon has not been impacted as badly in economic growth compared to the rest of the Middle East. Since 2010, investments in the region were down about 60 percent, but Lebanon only suffered a 40 percent hit.

“International investors need to look at this area,” Itani said. “Now there is a vacancy. We have a future with oil and gas in Lebanon. We have an opportunity to play a very big role in rebuilding Syria. That is why this is the time to establish investments there.”

To learn more about IDAL, visit

//investinlebanon.gov.lb