This Friday (21 May), Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will set off on a multi stop tour of the Middle East. From 21 to 23 May he will visit Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Syria.

On Friday (21 May), Federal Minister Westerwelle will meet Saad Hariri, the Lebanese Prime Minister, for political talks in Beirut. On Saturday (22 May) his talks will continue, among others with his Lebanese counterpart Ali Shami and President Michel Sleiman. He will also visit the German component of the UNIFIL naval unit in order to gain a first hand impression of the unit’s work and cooperation with the Lebanese Navy.

The second stop on the tour is Cairo, where on Saturday (22 May) Federal Minister Westerwelle will meet Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League, and his Egyptian opposite number Ahmed Aboul Gheit for an exchange of views.

On Sunday (23 May) he travels on to Jordan, where he will be received by King Abdullah II in Amman. He will also have political talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Naser Judeh.

The last stop on the tour is Syria, where on Sunday (23 May) Westerwelle will meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. Talks with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem will round off the trip, which will focus on the development of bilateral relations with these countries as well as on the Middle East peace process. Particular emphasis will be placed on that conflict’s regional dimension.