Samaras in Baku for Shah Deniz event

Samaras will also meet with the president of the country Ilham Aliyev in the afternoon.

An event to mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the agreement with large private companies and the start of the oil field development as well as an event for the Southern Gas Corridor will take place for Saturday.

The prime ministers of Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania, Georgia and Montenegro, as well as ministers from Britain, Croatia and Italy will attend the events.

Greece is linked to the Shah Deniz deposit through the TAP pipeline which will carry Azeri gas to Europe via Greece, Albania and Italy. The government has reassured that the agreement to sell Greek gas distribution firm DESFA to the Azeri state company is progressing.

Samaras will be accompanied by Environment Minister Yiannis Maniatis and government spokeswoman Sofia Voultepsi. On the sidelines of the events, the Greek prime minister will have contacts with other leaders.