Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Istanbul with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Ahval reported. The meeting lasted two hours and included a lunch, which discussed regional developments and cooperation to counter the challenges faced by regional countries.

Hariri and Erdogan discussed bilateral relations between Lebanon and Turkey, as well as efforts to end the destruction and rebuild Beirut as soon as a new government is formed in Lebanon, the Lebanese Prime Minister's office said in a statement.

A devastating explosion last August killed at least 100 people and injured thousands in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

This is the second meeting between Erdogan and Hariri this year. As the authors of the publication note, the name of the Lebanese Prime Minister is associated with corruption cases in Turkey. For example, Hariri was accused of alleged involvement in the activities of Türk Telekom, a leading information and communication technology company in Turkey.