Upon the invitation of the Regie Libanaise Des Tabacs Et Tombacs (Regie) the Directors and Managers of Tobacco institutions in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Tunisia held a meeting on Thursday in Lebanon. Following the meeting, the institutions 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”. The institutions stressed in the “Beirut Declaration 2” issued after their meeting on their continuous determination to strengthen cooperation “to preserve the sector and protect it from the various challenges it may face” due to “its important role in enhancing the national economies of these countries through huge revenues and also by providing job opportunities to keep the people in their countries.” Directors and Managers of National Tobacco institutions from Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, participated in the meeting hosted by Regie for the second consecutive year. The Egyptian delegation that participated in the meeting comprised from the Chairman & Managing Director of the Eastern Co. Mohammed Othman Haroun, and the Head of Tobacco Sectors Nasr Abd El Aziz. The Tunisian delegation comprised from the General Manager at the Regie Nationale du Tabac et des Allumettes (RNTA) Sami Ben Jannet and the Deputy General Manager at MTK Abdelwaheb Allani as well as the General Manager of thstyle="text-align: justify;">