Hopes of acquiring greater influence in the Eastern Mediterranean are driving competition to gain control of Beirut’s port. Turkey is one of the countries that has expressed its interest in investing in Beirut’s port. Ankara offered to engage in the ports’ reconstruction and help rebuild it, Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay said during a visit to Lebanon on 8 Aug, without elaborating.   “Turkey definitely has an interest in the port. The only Turkish-owned ports in the Eastern Mediterranean are currently in Turkey itself,” Dr James Dorsey, Senior Fellow at RSIS in Singapore, told The New Arab. “As Ankara is making a bid for greater regional influence, it would be keen to secure Beirut’s port, which would massively boost its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.”