The Head of the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Council, Neil Olbak, said that the Prime Minister of the unity government in Libya, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, expressed his country’s desire to work with Turkish companies on important projects in his country, and that new agreements in the fields of energy and health are likely to be signed.
“The arrival of Dbeibah to Turkey with a delegation that included a large number of ministers and officials shows the extent of the importance that the Libyan prime minister attaches to relations with Ankara,” Olbak said in his speech to Anadolu Agency.
Olbak added that the great support provided by Turkey to Libya and the rapprochement between the two countries has also begun to be reflected in the joint commercial and economic relations.
Olbak indicated that Dbeibah’s statements after his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were promising for the Turkish business world, and that the round table meeting that Dbeibah had with Turkish businessmen was very fruitful, adding that “he deals with events more pragmatically, given that he is coming from the business world.”
The Turkish official continued his speech by saying: “We have projects that have not been completed in the contracting sector in Libya, and there are some problems related to letters of credit regarding these projects. During the meeting, the Turkish companies presented their problems, proposals and demands to Dbeibah, who answered all questions and suggestions, and also gave the floor to the ministers accompanying him. That was very important to our companies.”
Olbak pointed out that Dbeibah had promised to move quickly regarding lifting the entry visa and signing a free trade agreement between Turkey and Libya.
He revealed that Turkey and Libya want to hold a meeting at the sectoral level similar to the last one, to be held in Libya after Eid al-Fitr, mid-May, and that officials of the two countries have begun discussing the issue.
Olbak explained that the volume of trade exchange between Turkey and Libya, last year, exceeded $3 billion, and that it is wrong to reduce trade relations with Libya to the contracting and construction sector only, according to what was reported by Anadolu Agency.
The Turkish official indicated that there are great opportunities for Turkish companies in the energy sector in Libya, given the great Libyan need in this sector, as well as their need for oil refineries, pointing to the possibility of other underground wealth in Libya, other than oil.
He also said that there are new agreements that have reached the stage of signing, in addition to the agreements that have already been signed, and that other protocols will be signed regarding the establishment of a power plant in Libya, and the distribution of electricity, in addition to that, Libya is in need of investments in the health sector.
Olbak noted that the Libyan Minister of Health was also present at the round table meeting and said he would continue his meetings directly with several Turkish companies. There are also discussions regarding Turkish companies establishing and operating a hospital in Libya.
