Hariri, left, and Nasrallah have only met twice in the last three years [AFP]

Hariri, who led the March 14 coalition to victory in elections earlier this month, met Hassan Nasrallah, the opposition Hezbollah leader, on Friday to discuss the shape of a new unity government.

"They also agreed on continuing discussion in the current positive calm atmosphere and stressed the logic of dialogue, co-operation and openness," a statement released after the meeting said.

The meeting was only the second between the two men in the last three years.

Michel Suleiman, Lebanon's president, will hold consultations with parliamentarians on Friday and Saturday to decide on the next prime minister.

Sectarian constitution

The premiership must be held by a Sunni Muslim under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing constitution, which divides the main political positions between the countries religious groups.

While the 71 MPs from Hariri's majority coalition could effectively appoint him as prime minister, he has reached out to his powerful rivals in the March 8 bloc in an attempt to guarantee a smooth transition into his administration.

The Future Movement leader backed Nabih Berri, leader of the Amal movement, for re-election as parliamentary speaker on Thursday in a symbolic sign of reconciliation.

Amal is part of the opposition coalition which includes Hezbollah. The two Shia Muslim groups have 25 MPs between them.

Hariri was raised in Saudi Arabia and is seen by some in Lebanon as a symbol of Riyadh's influence in the region, which is rivalled by Damascus.

Unity government

Nasrallah has previously called for the formation of a national unity government with veto power for the minority alliance after the parliamentary election, but Hariri has rejected such a veto.

It was not clear whether this issue was raised during the meeting between the two men.

Hariri entered politics in 2005 after the assassination of his father, a former prime minister.

He quickly became the strongest Sunni leader in a country and called for the contentious issue of disarming Hezbollah to be shelved in hopes of offering new incentive for the group's support.

Instead Hariri has focused on the need to improve the economy, stating his support for long-stalled economic measures including privatisation, which economists say are vital to reducing Lebanon's massive public debt burden.

He has twice passed on the chance of becoming prime minister, preferring to giving the post to his father's senior aide, Fouad Siniora, to avoid some of the political tension and direct challenge that Hezbollah posed at the time.

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