Lebanese President Michel Suleiman visited Saudi Arabia on Nov. 12. The visit did not bring along with it any great surprises such as the declaration of a new Lebanese government — as some had expected or hoped — eight months after the resignation of Najib Mikati’s government.

The visit did, however, shed light on matters of great importance, including Saudi Arabia’s increasing role in the region against the backdrop of the deep geopolitical transitions, especially with the dwindling US role and the rise of the Sunni-Shiite conflict. The visit also focused on bilateral Saudi-Lebanese relations that tackle today highly important issues for this small country that has been weighed down by its internal conflicts as well as the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon’s security, economy and even — it may seem — on its very continuity.

The situation of Lebanese nationals in Saudi Arabia and in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries topped the list of issues discussed at the Riyadh Summit. It is no longer a secret that their situation has been influenced by the developments of the Syrian crisis, the increasing sectarian conflict, political and security escalation, abduction threats and revelation of corruption networks that had even come to affect Gulf countries.

Consequently, these countries took certain precautionary measures. Thus, economic and commercial ties with Lebanon, which expects its nationals to return from abroad, were broken. It is worth noting that foreign remittances are among the main supporting pillars of the Lebanese economy, accounting for one of the highest percentages of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the world. The Gulf markets are no longer open to the Lebanese labor force, at least not completely. The situation has become related to the conflict in Syria and to Hezbollah’s politics that back the Syrian regime and threaten Saudi and Gulf interests. Once again, the Lebanese are paying the price of regional conflicts — proxy ones this time. They fled the war in search of a safe haven, but here are the war’s repercussions following them wherever they go.