Lebanese people in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

have a population exceeding 80,000,Lebanese Living in UAE Fear Deportation
/ref> closer estimates report a total of 156,000 Lebanese in the Emirates. Lebanese people form one of the largest communities of non-citizen Arabs in the UAE. In addition, an increasing number of Lebanese students seeking education and career opportunities opted for the country in light of its relatively reputable institutions across the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, the case that applies mostly to those born in United Arab Emirates. The Lebanese people tend to be spread out over various emirates of the country, with areas of high concentration being

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, Abu Dhabi and

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...

. Currently, the Lebanese job market is fully dominant by Lebanese national especially for specific industries such as consulting where large population of Lebanese are spread across all big consulting firms.

Background

Early migration of Lebanese people to the Emirates began during

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

(1975-1990) which resulted in a high influx of Lebanese moving their businesses to Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi and continued to do so during the 1990s and the further ongoing civil unrest in Lebanon due to the 2011 Syrian Civil War. The majority of Lebanese expatriates that fled during the Lebanese Civil War to the UAE are highly

educated Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, fluent in both French and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

languages, and affluent as well as being involved in business and the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

as beauty surgeons, businessmen, artists, presenters and news anchors.

Economic contributions

There are over fifteen thousand (15,000) Lebanese companies operating in the

Jebel Ali Free Zone Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza; Arabic: (جافزا) المنطقة الحرّة لجبل علي al-Munṭaqa al-Ḥurra le Jabal ʿAlī) is a free economic zone located in the Jebel Ali area at the far western end of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, nea ...

alone, an economic hub located in

Jebel Ali Jebel Ali ( ar, جبل علي) is a port town south-west of Dubai. The Jebel Ali Port is located there. Al Maktoum International Airport has been constructed just outside the port area. Jebel Ali is connected to Dubai via the UAE Exchange (fo ...

, a city in Dubai.

Lebanese people in the United Arab Emirates

*The Late Antoine Choueiri: owner of the Middle East's largest media broker (Choueiri Group) that controls Arabian Media Services International, MEMS, Arabian Outdoor, Times International, Audio Visual Media, C Media, Press Media, Digital Media Services, Interadio, Promofair, AMC and SECOMM. *

Iskandar Safa Iskandar Safa (born April 1952) is a French businessman of Lebanese origin. Together with his brother Akram Safa, he is the owner of Privinvest Holding, a major international naval construction group. In addition to this, Iskandar Safa and his br ...

: Owner of Privinvest, the major

defence contractor The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and ser ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

controlling shipyards and facilities. * Ralph R. Debbas: Automotive designer, founder and part-owner of the

supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

manufacturer

W Motors W Motors is an Emirati sports car company founded in Lebanon in 2012, being the first developer of high-performance luxury sports cars in the Middle East. Based in Dubai, the company's activities include automotive design, research and development ...

. *Kamel Morkos: Owner of Retouche Group, the largest warehouse in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

region. *Charles Jeha: President of the Lebanese Business Council - Dubai & Northern Emirates. *Maria Sfeir: Architect of the year at

Parsons Corporation Parsons Corporation (Parsons) is an American technology-focused defense, intelligence, security, and infrastructure engineering firm headquartered in Centreville, Virginia. The company was founded in 1944. Parsons has more than 16,000 employees ...

and fashion influencer. * Cyba Audi: Entrepreneur and communication expert. * Rima Maktabi:

Al Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a fl ...

news presenter and former presenter of ''Inside the Middle East'' on

CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inte ...

. * Taleb Kanaan:

presenter. *Joe Hawa: Chief Market Analyst and Financial Analyst Reporter at

CNBC Arabiya CNBC Arabia (Arabic: CNBC عربية) is an Arab free-to-air television channel. It covers regional and international affairs from an Arab economic perspective. CNBC Arabia's daily program schedule features the region's business news summary, inc ...

* Najwa Qassem:

presenter. * Ramia Farage:

Dubai One Dubai One (formerly known as Ch33 and then One TV) is a Pan Arab English language entertainment television channel, owned by Dubai Media Incorporated. It was launched on 14 May 1994, and is currently managed by Sarah al Jarman. It airs a mix o ...

news presenter. *

Diana Haddad Diana Haddad ( ar, ديانا حداد; born 1 October 1976) is a Lebanese singer, actress, and television personality who also holds Emirati citizenship and is based in the United Arab Emirates. Haddad is one of the most popular Arabic pop mu ...

: Lebanese singer (holding the Emirati citizenship) and former wife of the Emirati director, Suhail Al Abdool. * Majeed Achkar: Prominent grocery store owner and strategy consultant

References

{{Demographics of the United Arab Emirates Arabs in the United Arab Emirates Emirati people of Lebanese descent

Ethnic groups in the United Arab Emirates Lebanon–United Arab Emirates relations

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Background

Economic contributions

Lebanese people in the United Arab Emirates

See also

References