The tour will begin on Sept. 12 and will end on Sept. 15. Erdoğan along with a delegation consisting of high-level bureaucrats, businessmen and some ministers will begin with a visit to Egypt. He is scheduled to meet with his Egyptian counterpart Essam Sharaf and the head of Egypt's Higher Military Council, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, to discuss relations, while a boost between the countries regarding military cooperation is expected to come up on the agenda.
Erdoğan is also scheduled to meet with Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi and deliver a speech at a meeting of the Arab League's foreign ministers. Erdoğan will travel to Tunisia on Sept. 14 where he will have talks with acting Tunisian President Fouad Mebazza and interim Prime Minister Al-Baji Qa'ed Al-Sebsi.
The Turkish prime minister will end his tour with trip to Libya. He will meet with Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council, to discuss Turkey's possible contribution to the restructuring of Libya after the demise of the Muammar Gaddafi regime.
Erdoğan had earlier voiced his intentions to visit Gaza following his visit to Egypt, while at the same time noting that he was not intending to allow space for tension in the face of Israeli obstacles blocking entry into the Gaza Strip. There have been claims that Egypt is reluctant to agree to Erdoğan's passage to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing due to agreements with Israel that restrict entries to Gaza through Rafah. Reports said Egyptian authorities are also concerned that Erdoğan's safety might be at risk if he travels to Gaza.
Meanwhile, a group of Turkish ministers on Wednesday held a coordination meeting at the Foreign Ministry ahead of Erdoğan's planned visit to Egypt. Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız, Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan and Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım all attended the meeting.
