BEIRUT, June 13 -- Saudi Arabia has reopened its market to Lebanese goods after nearly five years, lifting an import ban that gutted one of the country's most important export sectors and signalling that the Gulf is once again willing to bet on a Lebanese government it had spent years keeping at arm's length.

The decision, announced on Wednesday through the Saudi Press Agency, came on the direct orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Riyadh said it was acting in recognition of the positive steps Beirut had taken to rebuild its state institutions over the past year, and of the commitments the Lebanese side had given to address the problem that triggered the ban in the first place.

That problem was drugs. In 2021, Saudi Arabia shut i...