Minister of State for Economic Affairs Salama Al-Ghwail says the Egyptian companies are ready to kick off their work in Libya but are pending some administrative procedures.
In an interview published Friday on The Independent Arabia website, Al-Ghwail explained that the Libyan state did not establish a target regarding the number of Egyptian workers to be recruited to Libya, as the figures may well exceed one million.
Al-Ghwail denied having plans to divide 'the reconstruction cake' in Libya, though Egypt will have the lion's share due to its "distinguished political position and technical and architectural development."
He said that Egypt has established itself as a market for Libya, and with the political will, the unity government acknowledged that Cairo should come first.
According to Al-Ghwail, construction, roads, and electricity will take precedence among other projects, then comes the health sector and the workforce.
The minister commended the work of the Audit Bureau head and the Attorney General, who "contributed to protecting the national economy" and led to the successful decisions in terms of the sovereignty, success, and activation of contracts.
On the issue of recovering Libya’s frozen funds, he indicated that the government is monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis. "We keep on discovering negative attitudes from some countries, and the matter is in the hands of the Security Council."
"The Libyan state is following the issue closely. Many tried to seize this money, but we count on the will of the patriots to protect the resources and wealth of their country.”
In response to a question about the value of Libya's reconstruction, he anticipated that the sum may reach 500 billion Libyan dinars, around 109.6 billion US dollars over ten years.
Talking about the elections, he denied knowing whether the interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah would nominate himself for the presidential elections. However, he said he looks forward to seeing him run for the upcoming votes, as he showed tremendous ability in managing the current phase, according to Al-Ghwail.
