German foreign minister to visit Lebanon on a Middle Eastern tour

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer will visit Lebanon in the middle of February as part of a Middle Eastern tour on the occasion of Germany's assuming the rotating chairmanship of the European Union.

Fischer will be escorted by EU peace process envoy Miguel Moratinos.

Map reported that the German official's trip will lead him to Sanaa, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Beirut, Damascus, Amman and Cairo, it was officially announced.

Peter Witing, Germany's ambassador in Lebanon said following his meeting yesterday with ambassador Zafer El-Ahsan, the secretary general of the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, that the foreign minister's discussions with officials in the countries he will visit focus on the peace process, the European role in the area -- especially the political side of it, and the European - Mediterranean partnership -- preparing for the European - Mediterranean discussion that will be convened in the German city of Stuttgart during February.