French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Lebanon for his second visit since a massive explosion at the capital's port earlier this month shook the country and renewed persistent calls for political change.
His arrival in Beirut on Monday evening for a two-day visit came hours after Lebanese leaders named diplomat Mustapha Adib as the new prime minister-designate, tasking him with forming a government in the wake of the previous administration's resignation following the August 4 explosion.
The explosion that ripped through Beirut killed at least 190 people, wounded thousands and caused widespread damage that left hundreds of thousands of people without a home.
Macron has been in direct contact with Lebanese officials since his first visit two days after the explosion, urging ossified politicians to come to a political understanding to pass through sweeping reforms and halt decades of corruption and mismanagement, which led the country into its deepest-ever economic crisis.
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On Monday, the French president was greeted by his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Aoun, at Beirut airport. He is also due to pay a visit to legendary Lebanese singer Fairouz later on Monday.
Macron addressed the Lebanese in a tweet in Arabic saying he had returned as promised to "work together to create necessary conditions for reconstruction and stability".
During his visit, Macron is expected to push politicians to enact reforms that international donors have demanded before they release financial support.
Western countries see a resumption of stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as reforms to the electricity and financial sectors, as key conditions for providing large-scale financial assistance. Aljazeera
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