Ankara - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is due to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday where he will take part in an intergovernmental summit. The topic of Turkey's European Union accession process is expected to top the agenda.

"Our goal is to reiterate Italy's support for Turkey's EU membership and to commit to helping Turkey to overcome whatever obstacles it faces," Italian ambassador to Turkey Carlo Marsili told the Anadolu news agency ahead of the visit.

The half-day intergovernmental summit is to take place in the Aegean city of Izmir.

In addition to meetings between Berlusconi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, bilateral meetings were also to be held between the foreign, defence and interior ministers of both countries. (dpa)