Prime Minister Antonis Samaras yesterday began a two-day official visit to Qatar -accompanied by a delegation of ministers and business people- aiming to rekindle Qatari investment interest.

On the first day of the visit, the premier met with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani.

During the meeting, both countries’ interest in reaching investment cooperation agreements in sectors of mutual interest, such as tourism, energy and constructions was confirmed. Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad said that his country would consider investing € 1 billion in a joint special fund for Greek SMEs. As an example, he pointed to a similar agreement with Italy.

Samaras said that Greece could become a significant bridge between the Middle East and Europe in areas such as banking and construction. He also stressed that fears about Greece leaving the eurozone had subsided. "Our country offers important investment opportunities," said Samaras. "We experienced a dramatic crisis but it has made us wiser, more decisive and stronger."

While in Doha, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras also had an impromptu meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the hotel where they both stay.

The two leaders agreed that Samaras would visit Ankara on March 4-5, and the visit would coincide with the meeting of a top-level cooperation council involving ministers from both countries. The council last met in May 2010.