Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi will meet Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the start of an Italy visit June 10-12 as economic ties between the countries continue to improve.
Gadhafi will meet Confindustria's Emma Marcegaglia, head of Italy's largest business association, and other businessmen June 12 after a series of political meetings, the Italian foreign ministry said Friday.
Since the two countries signed a treaty August 2008 in which Italy agreed to pay $5 billion over 20 years as compensation for when Libya was an Italian colony, business ties have flourished.
Libyan investors own about 5% of Italy's second-largest bank UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI). The Libyan Central Bank, which has a 4.3% stake in the Milan-based lender, came to UniCredit's rescue this year after the bank's biggest shareholder pulled out of a capital increase.
Oil-rich Libya is becoming a familiar presence in Italian business. After recently buying a stake in Italian oil company Eni SpA (E) by buying shares on the open market, Libya's $60 billion sovereign wealth fund is now eyeing utility Enel SpA.
The Libyan Investment Authority may take a minority stake in Enel as part of the Italian utility's EUR8.0 billion capital increase, Enel's chief executive said last month in an interview.
Gadhafi will return to Italy July 8-10 to take part in a summit featuring leaders from the Group of Eight leading economies, which includes U.S. President Barack Obama.