Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Thursday that the oil-rich kingdom stands by Lebanon, but stressed that the war-ravaged, crisis-ridden country needs to adopt necessary reforms.

Saudi Arabia's top diplomat landed in Beirut on Thursday to meet the country's new leadership in the first visit by a high-ranking official from the kingdom after more than a decade of strained ties.

Saudi Arabia's top diplomat, on his country's first high-level visit to Beirut after years of strained ties, said Thursday that he believed crisis-hit Lebanon's new leaders could spearhead

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat has visited Lebanon for the first time in a decade following years of strained relations between the oil-rich kingdom and the tiny Mediterranean country.

Foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan became the most senior Saudi Arabian official to visit Beirut in more than a decade on Thursday, marking the kingdom’s attempt to rebuild relations with Lebanon after the country elected a new president.

Riyadh was a major investor in Lebanon but ties between the two countries have soured for roughly the past decade over the growing influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. Aoun’s election to the

Saudi Arabia will continue supporting Lebanon and is optimistic about the country's future after a ceasefire brought an end to a war between Israel and the militant Iran-aligned Hezbollah group, the kingdom's foreign minister said from Beirut.