Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, on his first trip abroad since taking office, met with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh yesterday, AFP quotes the Saudi state media as saying.

Aoun, a former army chief seen as close to Riyadh and Washington, was elected on January 9, ending a more than two-year power vacuum amid a crippling political and economic crisis.

His election was made possible by the weakening of Lebanon’s Hezbollah during a devastating conflict with Israel. The official Saudi Press Agency said Aoun met with Prince Mohammed for “talks”, without elaborating.

Aoun has also received an invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to participate in an urgent Arab summit on Gaza to be held in Cairo today, according to the Lebanese presidency.