Libya’s foreign minister will visit South Korea next week to discuss economic and diplomatic cooperation between the two countries, Seoul officials said Friday.

Ashour Bin Khayal will arrive on Sunday for a three-day stay and hold talks with his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung-hwan on Tuesday about Seoul’s support for Tripoli’s reconstruction drive and Korean firms’ business in the oil-rich North African country.

“Khayal’s choice of Seoul as the first destination of his tour to Northeast Asia reflects close, cooperative relations between the two nations,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Khayal served as Libya’s first ambassador to South Korea from 1981-84.

He also plans to meet with Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Minister Kwon Do-youp and Health and Welfare Minister Rim Che-min, as well as construction industry officials.

The two countries have been working to shore up trade and a multitude of stalled infrastructure projects by Korean companies in the wake of the Arab Spring. Domestic builders, energy developers, heavy equipment makers are also eyeing new business opportunities there.

The Mediterranean country’s months-long civil war ended in October with the death of Moammar Gadhafi after four decades of dictatorship.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)