Greece is staging a comeback after years of economic difficulty, Altmaier said, encouraging German firms to invest in the country. The renewable energy sector poses particularly lucrative opportunities, he added.

Greece suffered from crippling government debt in the wake of the 2007-08 financial crisis and was forced to take three international bailout packages. It emerged from the last programme in August 2018.

Today, Greece has the potential to become a new “success story,” Altmaier said, while warning against leaving investment to third countries such as China.

Trade between Germany and Greece grew by more than 6 per cent in 2019, according to the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK).

For the first time since 2009, the countries’ trade volume edged above 8 billion euros (9.1 billion dollars).

Greece’s economy has recovered significantly since Mitsotakis’ conservative New Democracy party won the election last July.