The first ever Turkish–Libyan Economic Forum has been launched in Istanbul on Thursday, with participation by a group of institutions and businessmen from both countries, in which there were many activities and proposed packages for shared commercial networking.
The two-day forum has been organized by the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Council and the Libyan General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, which witnessed meetings between businessmen and institutions for the purpose of exploring coordination opportunities.
The Head of the Forum at the Council of Foreign Economic Relations, Mortada Kornfil, said in a quote that 100 Turkish institutions and events are set to be participated in, during the first day’s work, which denotes 200 economic activities from Libya alone.
He indicated that Libya is an important country for not only Turkey, but North Africa generally and it is an important partner and friend, adding that the building and construction sector of Turkey entered Libya as far back as the 1970’s, achieving billions of dollars in successful enterprises. In 2019 the volume of trade had reached 2.5 billion dollars.
For his part, the Head of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Libya, Mohamed Raed, said that trade relations between both countries go back a long time and are characterized by deep ties, leading into the promise of a growing commercial opportunity, in light of the stable security conditions at present in Libya.
He stated that the forum is in the interest of both countries and this will only succeed by creating promising partnerships between the public and private sectors, along with groups of businessmen supporting them, adding that companies can take advantage of the opportunities promised by Libya and its great desire for stability.
“As a result of joint relations, we have goals to reach, with a proposed volume of trade exchange of 10 billion dollars, a goal which is not very difficult to achieve, particularly in light of this great joint cooperation.” Vice Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Union Council, Basharan Bayrak, said during the conference.
He went on to point out that the most important companies in Libya are Turkish, especially in the energy and electricity sector and that cooperation would contribute to the development of the entire region.
