Greece and Qatar were expected to sign, in the early hours of Friday (Greek time) in New York, a general framework agreement to boost development cooperation between the two countries.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani were due to sign the agreement .

Commenting on press reports over the issue, government spokesman George Petalotis said it was too early to talk about investments and noted that the two sides will try to cooperate in several levels and stressed that the introduction of a “fast track” investment policy by the government was a significant tool to overcome hurdles in attracting investments.

He added that the government was unraveling rapidly its initiatives towards a better management of the state’s real estate property to the benefit of the country in the long-term. Petalotis said the government was examining plans to offer favourable tax status for new investors.