BERLIN, Nov 13, SPA -- Germany's foreign minister will visit five North African countries this week on a visit aimed at strengthening political and economic ties with the resource-rich region, the government said Monday. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, accompanied by a high-ranking business delegation, will set off Tuesday for Libya, ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner said. He is to open a German-Libyan industry forum in the city of Benghazi. Steinmeier's five-day trip also will take him to Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania, the Associated Press reported. The tour comes as Germany prepares to take over the European Union's rotating presidency in January. Steinmeier's trip is aimed at supporting «enormousefforts» toward modernization in the five countries aswell as «strengthening neighborly ties to Europe in thelong term,» as well as promoting economic ties, Ploetnersaid. «The region offers significant potential in the oil andgas sectors, but it is also of rising interest for Germanindustry in the area of renewable energy,» he added. --SPA www.spa.gov.sa/402866