European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton arrived in Tunisia Monday for talks on EU’s aid to the country's democratic transition after a popular revolt ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali last month.
She met with Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi and was due to meet also with members of other political parties and civil society representatives.
Ashton’s visit comes as Italy appealed for help in containing a flood of refugees who have arrived from Tunisia in recent days.
On Tuesday he is to travel to Israel for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and later with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
She is also due to visit Lebanon and Jordan.
But a visit to Egypt, where Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned last Friday and handed his powers to the army, is still uncertain as Egyptian authorities have apparently so far denied her request to visit the country because a "heavy domestic agenda."
At their recent summit meeting in Brussels, EU leaders mandated Ashton to go to Egypt in order to convey EU’s call for an “orderly transition to democracy and for fair elections”.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs planned to meet with all Egyptian political forces, including the Muslim Brotherhood.