By Sami Zaptia.
London, 8 April 2021:
The Libya Business Council (LBC), Libya’s only legally recognized private sector business council (as opposed to other NGO associations), participated in the virtual meeting of the Greece-North Africa Business Gathering yesterday. The event included Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.
The event was organized by the Hellenic Arab Chamber of Trade and Development, with the participation of Greek and Arab companies and institutions, official representatives and speakers from Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Greece.
The LBC reported that the meeting shed light on the investment opportunities available to the participating countries, activating trade, economic and tourism cooperation between North African countries and Greece, encouraging commercial and tourism movement, and working to reduce the effects of the economic downturn caused by the Corona pandemic.
The event also provided a platform for establishing multiple business networks and virtual rooms for holding B2B bilateral meetings between the participants in the event.
Libyan participants focused on Libyan sectors available for investment, in the fields of reconstruction, infrastructure, renewable energy and technology.
The representative of Libya’s Ministry of Economy and Trade called on Greek businesses to take advantage of the opportunities in Libya.
The importance of opening a direct air route between Libya and Athens was also discussed in order to facilitate the movement of business owners between the two countries, which requires joint efforts to lift the restrictions imposed by the European Union on the movement of Libyan aviation.
Libya’s need to meet the standards required to restore air traffic between Europe and Libya to its previous state was highlighted, despite the difficulty of the matter due to the effects of the Corona pandemic, which has affected aviation traffic and supply chains across the world. Participants expressed hope for a near breakthrough and the imminent return of recovery to economic life in the region.
The Secretary General for Economic Relations at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs also touched on the Greek Prime Minister’s visit to Libya and the imminent reopening of the Greek embassy in Tripoli.
The LBC expressed its hope that this event will be the beginning of the rebuilding of economic ties not only between Libya and Greece, but also with all the other North Africa countries and the rest of the world.
