It may be the birthplace of Scotland's greatest explorer but Blantyre has not often hosted visits from foreign heads of state.

However, as the town celebrates the bicentenary of its most famous son, David Livingstone, next year it could also be welcoming a president.

Former First Minister Jack McConnell and the MP for the area, Tom Greatrex, have invited Malawi's new president to Blantyre to mark 200 years since Dr Livingstone's birth.

Joyce Banda became Malawi's first female president with her appointment earlier this year, and only the second female head of state in the continent.

Her country has strong links to Scotland not least because of Dr Livingstone. The 19th-century missionary was born in Blantyre on March 19, 1813, and from a young age worked in a local mill. He became an explorer and travelled extensively in Malawi where he is credited with helping to end slavery in the country, a cause to which he devoted his life.

He was the first European to view the waterfall he named Victoria Falls and he spent years searching for the source of a Nile.

It was on one such expedition when he went missing, and was finally tracked down by the reporter Henry Stanley who uttered the words that were to become famous: "Dr Livingstone, I presume?"

Tom Greatrex, Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP whose constituency includes Blantyre, said: "It would be a great honour for President Banda to visit Blantyre to mark the bicentenary of David Livingstone's birth in 2013.

"There is a great bond between Blantyre in my constituency and the whole of Malawi, including Blantyre. A visit from President Banda would signal the strength of those ties.

"It is right that Blantyre in Lanarkshire is at the centre of events to celebrate the life of David Livingstone at this important anniversary. The town is at the heart of the Livingstone story, and Blantyre is rightly proud of the achievements of its most famous son."

A £500,000 campaign is being planned to celebrate the bicentenary. A series of celebrations will mark the occasion and highlight Dr Livingstone's work, as part of a push co-ordinated by the Scotland-Malawi Partnership, which promotes links with the African country.

The campaign will also develop the David Livingstone Centre in the explorer's birthplace. It will be funded by the National trust for Scotland, the Scottish Government and South Lanarkshire Council.

Earlier this month, both the Scottish and UK governments announced extra aid for Malawi in the wake of its appointment of Mrs Banda as president.

Last week, she announced she wanted Malawi to overturn its ban on homosexual acts, a move that would make it the first African country to do so since 1994.