Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who was in Ankara for the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit hosted by Türkiye.

Thursday’s meeting took place at the Presidential Complex, according to Türkiye’s Communications Directorate on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

The directorate said the talks addressed Türkiye-Albania bilateral relations and regional and global issues.

Erdogan said Türkiye is working to further advance relations with Albania and wants to deepen cooperation, particularly in the defence industry.

He also said the NATO summit held in Ankara had “decisively demonstrated” the strength of alliance solidarity.

Erdogan invited Rama to the COP31 Leaders Summit, which will be held in the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya in November, the directorate said.

Also attending the meeting were Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defence Minister Yasar Guler, AK Party Deputy Chairman and spokesperson Omer Celik, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalin, Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran and the president's chief foreign policy and security adviser, Akif Cagatay Kilic.

The Ankara meeting marks the second NATO summit hosted by Türkiye, following the 2004 Istanbul summit.

The gathering also provided a platform for bilateral meetings between Türkiye and allied countries and partner nations on political, security and economic cooperation.