Libya is the biggest provider of crude oil to Italy by far and its sovereign wealth fund may yet prop up some large Italian companies, but Silvio Berlusconi is discovering - like Gordon Brown of the UK - that to deal with Muammer Gaddafi can be a double-edged sword.
When he flies to Tripoli on Sunday, the Italian prime minister will be the first western head of government to greet the Libyan leader since the homecoming of the convicted Lockerbie bomber which has sparked a furore in the US and the UK.
Oil and business ties are expected to top the agenda when Mr Berlusconi joins Colonel Gaddafi to celebrate the accord they forged a year ago under which Italy said it would pay $5bn (€3.5bn, £3bn) during 25 years as reparations for its colonial rule, which lasted from 1911 to 1943.
In return, Libya made a deal about boat people leaving its shores and is to give Italian companies priority in infrastructure projects, such as Finmeccanica's aerospace venture with a Libyan fund and its award last month of a €541m railway signalling contract. Libya's sovereign wealth funds seek stakes in Italian companies, including a possible 10 per cent holding in Eni, the energy company controlled by the Italian government.
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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/57dc0ee4-936a-11de-b146-00144feabdc0.html
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