German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle begins Wednesday his first extended trip abroad since taking office in October, paying visits to Turkey and three Gulf nations, according to dpa. In Ankara and Istanbul, Westerwelle is likely to be asked about his attitude to Turkey"s desire to enter the European Union (EU) with full membership rights. His talks in Turkey are set to start with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. His schedule includes meetings with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He is also to address a meeting of Turkey"s ambassadors to other nations. In Istanbul, which is one of the European capitals of culture this year, he is to inspect a grand home used to date as the German ambassador"s summer residence. Officials hope to convert it into a German-Turkish cultural centre. Westerwelle heads the Free Democrat Party (FDP), the new junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel"s coalition. Merkel"s Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU), is hostile to Turkey joining the EU, but Westerwelle is expected to tell Turkey that Berlin"s policy is now set down in the accord made between the parties when they formed their coalition. That says the Turkey-EU accession negotiations should be open to any outcome. Westerwelle has several times praised Turkey"s efforts at modernizing reforms, while saying more progress is needed. The CSU and some elements in Merkel"s own Christian Democrats say Turkey should not be offered membership but only a "privileged partnership." On Friday, Westerwelle will move on to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a large delegation of German business people who will be relying on the minister to open doors for them in the Gulf. The January 6-11 tour is not his first to the Middle East. He paid a short visit in November to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and the Mideast conflict is to be a main topic on this tour, a government spokesman said when announcing the trip. Saudi Arabia is a key player in efforts to establish a peace between the Arabs and Israelis. The dispute with Iran over its nuclear research will also be on the agenda, with Westerwelle expected to ask the Gulf nations for support if sanctions are instituted against Teheran. The fight against international terrorism and the current upswell of violence in Yemen are bound to be discussed too in Riyadh, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The presence of Ruediger Grube, chief executive of the Deutsche Bahn company, in the business delegation suggests his railway company is bullish about plans to upgrade the rail network on the Arabian peninsula. Deutsche Bahn, which operates ICE bullet trains in Germany, signed a deal in November with Qatar foreseeing billions of dollars of investment in new rail lines and has been courting other governments for railway building deals.
