Tsipras in UK in bid to promote Greek role in Balkans, seek investors

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is in London on Monday for a three-day visit during which he is scheduled to meet with his counterpart, Theresa May, and the head of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, while attempting to present Greece as a significant player in the Balkans and investigate investment interest.

The Greek premier is to meet on Monday with Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain and later with young Greek scientists working in the UK capital, at the Hellenic Center of London, at 6 p.m.

On Tuesday is his scheduled meeting with May at Downing Street. Later in the day he is to meet with Corbyn. Finally on Wednesday, Tsipras is to speak at the London Business School.

Tsipras is expected to play up Greece's role in the Balkans in the wake of a landmark deal to change the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and to sound out investor interest in Greece following last week's Eurogroup debt deal ahead of the country's scheduled exit from its bailouts in August.

The Greek premier will be accompanied on his visit by his close aide Dimitris Liakos and Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis.