By Farah Waleed
Tripoli, 21 April 2013
There are plans for Ukrainian specialists to help set up a new opthalmic hospital in Tripoli.
These . . .[restrict]were discussed today at a meeting between Prime Minister Ali Zeidan and GNC President Mohamed Magarief in a meeting with Ukrainian Middle East and North Africa envoy Hanadi Latte.
Ukraine’s ambassador in Libya, Mykola Nahorny, told the Libya Herald that some 2,000 Libyans a year currently received opthalmic treatment in Kiev, his country’s capital.
It is understood that the new eye hospital is to be set up in an existing building and its staff will include Ukrainians.
In his talks, the envoy also made clear that Ukrainian companies are keen to win contracts helping in the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and work on new projects.
Unlike firms from countries such as Turkey, Italy, India, Russia and China, Ukrainian businesses suffered little in the way of losses, since there were no major projects to abandon at the start of the revolution. The country’s oil and gas giant, NAFTOGAZ had pulled out of Libya in 2010.
Latte also raised the trial of 19 Ukrainian engineers, accused of assisting Qaddafi’s forces to deploy mothballed anti-aircraft missiles. The men’s appeal against their earlier conviction is currently being heard in the Supreme Military Court in Tripoli. On 10 April, the proceedings were opened and adjourned until early next month, following a request from defence lawyers for more time to talk to their clients.
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