Tour to give momentum to trade with 'Arab Spring' nations

A three-day visit by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a large delegation of Turkish businessmen to Egypt, Tunisia and Libya is expected to boost business relations between Turkey and the so-called Arab Spring nations, helping to reverse declining trade figures, observers said on Tuesday. Erdogan, the most popular public figure across the Arab world, started his three-day tour on Tuesday night in Cairo. He was greeted by thousands of Egyptians who had flocked into Cairo airport. Following his address to an Arab League Foreign Ministers' Council Meeting, Erdogan met the Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Abdel Aziz Sharaf in Cairo on Tuesday. Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart later signed a joint declaration on establishing a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. A delegate of 280 people, including deputies and businessmen from a wide range of sectors such as construction, ready-to-wear, food and health, furniture, communication, defense, finance and cosmetics, left in two separate planes on Tuesday to accompany the PM on his “Arab Spring Tour.