Hopes up for boosting business with Libya

Cooperation pending mutual agreements

Rebuilding business ties between Lebanon and Libya will be discussed at a forum to be held in Tripoli, Libya, on November 18. The Minister of Economy and Trade, Nicolas Nahas, will be leading a business delegation to attend the forum.

Libya last year lifted a decade-old trade embargo on Lebanon. Since then, two private organizations for promoting bilateral ties were formed with the aim to encourage trade and investments between the two countries.

“Libya has always been an important market, and Libyan people have always liked Lebanese products,” said Naji Mouzannar, chairman of the Trade Agreements Commission at the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture of Beirut (CCIAB).

The Libyan market is expected to witness remarkable growth in all sectors, Mouzannar said. He said prospects for business cooperation are high: “Infrastructure and public enterprises are expected to witness a boom and Lebanese contractors have a big chance of taking part in the projects.”

However, establishing solid bilateral cooperation needs more time, according to Mouzannar. “We haven’t signed any (trade) agreements so far,” he said. Libya is not member of the inter-Arab free trade agreement (GAFTA). “In CCIB we are waiting for Libya to sign the GAFTA so that we could move on with building trade relations,” said Mouzannar.

The Lebanese-Libyan conference is organized by the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL), the Libyan Privatization and Investment Council, and Al Iktissad Wal Aamal group, along with other key stakeholders.