Erdogan meets PM Mikati in Ankara
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, at the start of a state visit that will last several hours.
Upon his arrival at the presidential complex, an official welcome ceremony was held for Premier Mikati.
Afterwards, President Erdogan and Premier Mikati held a closed-door meeting, followed by an expanded meeting at the ministerial level.
The Lebanese and Turkish ministers also held bilateral work meetings.
The Lebanese delegation accompanying Mikati includes Minister of Tourism Walid Nassar, Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayad, Minister of Environment and Chairman of the Ministerial Emergency Committee Nasser Yassin, Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh, Lebanon's Ambassador to Turkey Ghassan Al-Maamari, and Army Representative Brigadier General Youssef Haddad.
The Turkish delegation included Ministers of Tourism, Energy, Agriculture, Defense, Environment, Transport and Infrastructure, as well as Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon, Murat Lütem, and Ankara Governor Vasip Şahin.
Premier Mikati’s first stop of his visit to Ankara was the Mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, where he was received by the Director General of the Ataturk Mausoleum Administration and the Director General of Protocol at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mikati laid a wreath on the tomb followed by a minute of silence.
