The Regie’s Yehia Jawad to climb Mount Everest
The Regie’s General Manager and President Mr. Nassif Seklaoui received, in the presence of the Member of the Administration Committee Mr. Georges Hobeika, the Chief of the Sports Committee Mr. Rafik Sbeiti along with the employee Yehia Jawad, who works at the local production department. Jawad is getting ready to climb Mount Everest, which is considered the highest in the world with 8848 meters in height.
Mr. Jawad presented an overview about the preparations he is going through, whether on technical level or on psychological. Saying that climbing Mount Everest is a childhood dream, he expressed his enormous pride with his nation, Lebanon, and his belonging to the Regie. In case he was able to reach the mount, Jawad ensured that he will raise the Lebanese flag as well as the Regie’s.
In turn, Mr. Seklaoui urged Mr. Jawad to take care of his personal safety, and encouraged him by referring to his will of success, and wishing him good luck.
e Legal Affairs at Tunisian Ministry of Finance, Jalel Smaali. As for the Syrian delegation, it was represented by the Assistant of the General Director for Administrative and Legal Affairs at the General Organization of Tobacco in Syria, Katiba Thabet Khdour.
Beirut Declaration
The attendees issued a statement titled “Beirut Declaration 2” in which they stressed the “importance of the Tobacco Sector and its impacts on various sectors mainly the financial, economic, developmental, social and commercial” and they expressed the mutual interest of countries present at the meeting and other neighboring countries to enhance a fruitful cooperation policy between the tobacco institutions of these countries to preserve this sector and protect it from the various challenges that it may face especially that the tobacco sector plays an important role in enhancing the national economies of these countries of these countries through huge revenues and also by providing job opportunities to keep the people in their countries”. They also noted that “certain decisions taken by concerned international bodies might have a negative impact on the Tobacco Sector”, stressing that “this negative impact mainly affects the tax revenues which are considered a key element for the sustainability of the national treasury and the economic cycle which relies on developing the status and conditions at the industrial, agricultural and commercial sectors”. Expressing their "belief to be able to unite all their efforts to overcome the difficulties facing the tobacco sectors in their countries," they reiterated their adherence to the “Beirut Declaration 1” which not only clarifies the role of the tobacco sector at the financial and economic levels, but also stresses they key role it plays to maintain the economic sustainability of these countries and face the social challenges such as child labor and contribute to the alleviation of poverty, all given its legitimacy.”
Noting that certain international practices, decisions and procedures are considered a prejudice to the sovereignty of the states, the attendees highlighted “the importance of establishing a common workplan between the present national tobacco institutions in order to obviate the risks that this sector and its resources might face, by complying to the below measures:
- Enhancing the level of cooperation and communication and developing means to share information pertaining to the tobacco sector with all the concerned parties whether directly or indirectly between international tobacco companies and the regional companies and also between the public and private institutions namely the Ministry of Finance and the Customs and the Ministries of Economy, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and other ministries by holding joint meetings and mandating coordinators in different institutions to closely and regularly follow up on this dossier, while taking into consideration the security, confidential, and legislative merits of each country.
- Raising awareness among decision makers and the public on the negative impacts of international tobacco laws on the national economies, while highlighting the importance of the tobacco sector at the economic and social levels, and shedding light on the risks of using smuggled products, both at the health and economic levels, and also by emphasizing the positive and socio-humanitarian aspect of this sector in order to gain national moral support.
- Intensifying studies and research through accurate and close follow-ups on the latest and relevant international legislations, in addition to studying and analyzing them so that concerned departments can set the legal suggestions and raise them to the decision makers, and also by providing advice in the fields of joint action and sharing similar experiences among participating institutions at the national and regional levels.
- Recognizing the right of each country to take the needful measures that comply with its laws and legislations.
The attendees confirmed that addressing the challenges and risks faced by the tobacco sector could only be done coordinating the efforts and unifying them through the adoption of a common agenda for each country, manifested through the following:
- The permanent and continuous confirmation on the necessity of participating in the COP and MOP meetings scheduled for 2018 to follow up on the latest developments and decisions resulting from these meetings as they directly affect the tobacco sector.
- Taking the legal steps and the needed measures to put an end to the illegal trade of tobacco and establishing different general awareness campaigns that shed light on the importance of proceeds resulting from the licit and legal trade in tobacco, and the negative impacts resulting from the loss of these proceeds and their influence on the public finance in addition to the subsequent health risks and damages implicated on consumers of illegal tobacco which evades control and is subject to poor storing conditions and unhealthy conditions of shipment for smuggling. The attendees stressed the importance and necessity of setting a plan to execute all the ideas listed in “Beirut Declaration 2”.
Seklaoui
The Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Regie, Eng. Nassif Seklaoui commenced the meeting with a speech in which he said that the Regie “has always longed to be a model public facility in Lebanon” and was able, year after year, to prove to the entire country the importance of adhering to this sector and supporting it through the huge revenues provided to the treasury and the vital social and developmental role played by this sector.”
Eng. Seklaoui added that “this meeting is held in light of a risk that threatens the existence of the tobacco sector due to the establishment of laws and international decisions that aim at setting aside this sector from the trade agreements and the international investments and thus, restricting our production, limiting our tobacco cultivation, and eventually limiting its production and trade throughout the world. This means reducing our revenues, marginalizing the great role of our institutions in supporting the national economies and ending the work of a sector linked to a broad social segment.”
He also noted that “the impacts of these decisions do not only cut the revenues but also promote the illegal trade of tobacco products which leads to major financial losses and denies the state tax revenues worth millions of dollars every year.” In this regard, Seklaoui noted that “the smuggling rate in Lebanon reached 25% which denies the treasury revenues worth 250 million dollars.”
Eng. Seklaoui stated that “these developments required the national tobacco institutions to revisit and recheck their priorities and adopt the needed measures in order to mitigate the damage caused by this crisis.”
He also stressed that “cooperation of national tobacco institutions with governmental entities is essential,” stressing the necessity of extensive follow up in order to achieve justice and face the illegal trade procedures.”
Consequently, Eng. Seklaoui emphasized “the importance of unifying the efforts to face the challenges that firmly stand in face of this legitimate sector (…) and that impact the major roles assumed by the tobacco sector.” He noted that “on top of providing financial revenues, this sector provides job opportunities for farmers and industrialists, as well as other opportunities in the technical and craftsmanship fields along with import and export revenues.”
Seklaoui added: “We are here today to unite our position and have a clear vision to provide it to our governments in order to save this sector and protect it while maintaining the privacy of each institution and each government in how to reach this end and achieve this goal.” Seklaoui concluded by saying that “this meeting is a chance for cooperation at all levels between the participating countries,” noting that the cooperation started in September 2016 and “what’s more important is the continuous coordination to raise awareness on the risks of these decisions.”
Haroun
For his part, the Chairman & Managing Director of the Eastern Co. Mohammed Othman Haroun noted that “this system reflects the position and the situation of the Arab people and the importance of productive cooperation between them.”
Haroun stressed the necessity of keeping in mind that “tobacco trade provides job opportunities for all the people and eventually resolves the problem of unemployment that Arab countries are facing,” highlighting the importance of having “a clear vision and a sense of responsibility to confront any challenges or risks that threaten this sector in the Arab world.”
Ben Jannet
Meanwhile, the General Manager at the Regie Nationale du Tabac et des Allumettes (RNTA) Sami Ben Jannet stressed “the importance of the meeting in light of the challenges linked to the tobacco sector and the threats its facing.” In this regard, Ben Jannet said: “Our only choice to face these threats lies in having a unified vision and a systematic policy build with reliance on our national responsibilities and our sense of belonging, all to the well-being of our countries and their economic and social prosperity.”
“We extend our sincere hopes of reaching constructive recommendations pertaining to these issues.”
Khdour
As for the Assistant of the General Director for Administrative and Legal Affairs at the General Organization of Tobacco in Syria, Katiba Thabet Khdour, he described the yearly meeting held to face the challenges as “an important and effective step,” noting that the situation of tobacco sectors in various countries is similar and considering that “the suffering of this sector in all countries is the same.” He added that “the opposition of international organizations to the cultivation of tobacco will have major negative repercussions and will push farmers toward illegal means and illegal cultivation and consequently toward smuggling and totally unhealthy conditions for the tobacco products.”