The Greek prime minister will travel to Libya today for talks with Muammer Gaddafi on possible investments in Greece as Athens struggles to overcome the country's fiscal crisis.
George Papandreou will discuss potential investments in Greece by Libya's sovereign wealth fund and its state-owned energy groups during talks with the country's leader, officials said. He also hopes to revive a family friendship with Colonel Gaddafi that flourished while his father, Andreas Papandreou, was prime minister during the 1980s. "These are exploratory talks, nothing will be signed on this visit . . . but it opens the way ahead," one Greek official said.
The Greek delegation is counting on a warm welcome in Tripoli following an invitation extended during a visit to Athens last month by Ali Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi, the Libyan prime minister. Mr Mahmudi said Libya planned to spend as much as €200bn (£166bn) on "a huge leap in development . . . and our relations with Greece will also see a huge development".
Mr Papandreou is leading the country's drive to attract inward investment from the Gulf states and other oil and gas producers. Energy and shipbuilding projects involving Qatari and Abu Dhabi investors are under discussion.
The investment drive was stepped up after Greece failed earlier this year to persuade Gulf and other sovereign wealth funds to buy sizeable chunks of Greek debt. Greek public and private investment is projected to shrink this year, as the terms of the country's €110bn bail-out by its eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund call for an unprecedented fiscal consolidation.