Lebanon and syria which needs the other more?

As the border crisis between Lebanon and Syria unfolded over the last two months, the bars of Beirut and the family restaurants of the Old City of Damascus were host to boisterous and often heated conversations on how it was time for each country to “go it alone.” The fallout from the late prime minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination continues and nationalist sentiments are slowly eroding into the economic bedrock that has linked these two countries for centuries. As tensions are likely to continue for the foreseeable future, especially given the impending release of the findings of the UN investigation into Hariri’s death this month, taking a closer look at what each side needs economically from the other is an important first step in understanding the options each country has at its disposal in weathering whatever crises might lie ahead. Trade In the first half of 2005, Lebanese exports to Syria