President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday said Turkey is ready to undertake infrastructure projects in Lebanon, including rebuilding the Port of Beirut.
"I expressed that our companies are ready to undertake important infrastructure projects, including the reconstruction of the Port of Beirut," Erdoğan told a joint press conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the capital Ankara.
A massive chemical blast at the port on Aug. 4, 2020, has been described as one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in the world. It devastated the Lebanese capital, killing at least 216 people, injuring thousands and destroying entire neighborhoods.
The blast was a strong blow to a country already crushed by an economic meltdown described by the World Bank as one of the world’s worst since 1850.
Turkey had last year also conveyed to the Lebanese government that it is ready to rebuild the port.
"In the first days following the Beirut port explosion, I immediately sent my deputy and foreign minister to Beirut to show our solidarity with the Lebanese people," Erdoğan said.
The president said Turkey was the first country to come to the aid of its Lebanese brothers with ambulance planes after a fuel tank explosion in Akkar in northern Lebanon last August, stressing his country does not discriminate between the Lebanese people.
Following his meeting with Mikati, Erdoğan said Turkey intends to strengthen cooperation and solidarity with Lebanon in a wide range of fields.
He noted that his country considers the Lebanese people’s problems and achievements as its own, and is ready to lend support to the Lebanese government's reform efforts.
"During our meetings, we discussed Turkey-Lebanon relations comprehensively. We focused on the development of cooperation opportunities. We discussed together with my dear friend how we can contribute to Lebanon and what additional steps we can take."
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the trade volume between the two countries reached $1.8 billion in 2021 with an increase of approximately 80% year-over-year.
"I believe that Turkish products are suitable and attractive for the Lebanese market in many aspects such as price, quality, transportation cost. We also wish to diversify the products we import from Lebanon within this scope," the president said.
Erdoğan added that to encourage more tourists to go to Lebanon, Turkish Airlines (THY) is offering a 20% discount on all flights to Beirut from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28. He said the national carrier is also working on a similar campaign that will last until May.
For his part, Mikati said his country needs Turkey’s cooperation and assistance.
"Today, we are in dire need of cooperation and assistance from Turkey," he said, hoping that "our close personal relations will open many doors for cooperation and assistance."
The Lebanese premier said his country "is going through a crisis that is almost the worst in the world at all economic, financial and social levels. We need support and assistance in all fields."
Lebanon suffered the worst economic crisis in its history two years ago with the collapse of its currency amid a shortage of medicines, fuel and basic commodities as well as a sharp decline in the purchasing power for its citizens.
Mikati said that during Lebanese-Turkish talks in Beirut in 2005, a joint decision was taken to cancel visas between the two countries, which contributed to strengthening bilateral relations.