South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won embarks on an eight-day tour of Asian and Middle Eastern countries next week to help boost bilateral economic and cultural exchanges, his office said Wednesday.

Chung is scheduled to visit Bahrain, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Turkey for eight days from Sunday. He is expected to be the first South Korean official to make a state visit to Bahrain and Sri Lanka, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.

On Monday, he will hold bilateral talks with his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh al-Khalifa to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation on a variety of fields including trade, finance and energy.

He will then move to Qatar the next day for talks with his counterpart to discuss how to improve ties.

Chung will also discuss ways for Korean companies to participate in construction projects as the Middle Eastern country prepares for the 2022 Olympics.

On the third leg, Chung is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from Wednesday to attend the Korea-Sri Lanka forum on the environmental cooperation and hold talks with his counterparts.

Chung will Saturday fly to Istanbul, Turkey, for the opening ceremony of the Istanbul-Gyeongju World Culture Expo 2013 before holding talks with the Turkish prime minister.

The cultural expo will be held from Aug. 31 to Sept. 22 with participants from over 30 countries showing off the beauty of their traditional and contemporary culture.

"Chung will actively pursue the economic and cultural diplomacy in the countries by focusing on the issues of fostering bilateral cooperation, supporting our firms' advancement into new markets, and encouraging our people who reside and work there," his office said in a statement. (Yonhap News)