Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail will travel to Germany on Thursday for medical treatment and surgery and is expected to be there for three weeks, the cabinet said in a statement on Wednesday.

It did not specify the condition he would be treated for. The cabinet spokesman said the presidency would choose someone to perform the premier’s duties in Ismail’s absence.

Ashraf Sultan, the cabinet’s spokesman, said the president will appoint an acting prime minister on Thursday or Sunday. He added that one of the ministers may be chosen for this duty until Ismail returns to Egypt.

source: Alarabiya