By Sami Zaptia.
London, 28 May 2021:
Speaking yesterday on the opening day of the two-day Djerba International Business Forum 2021, the head of the Zliten Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Khaled Bileed, summarized the solutions to the main issues regarding Libyan-Tunisian economic relations as follows:
- Finding quick and effective solutions to solve the problems and obstacles facing traders, manufacturers, and farmers in the two countries.
- Activate suspended legislations and decision.
- Lifting the Central Bank of Libya ban on importing goods by land freight.
- Activating the work of the joint Libyan-Tunisian banks that are now in the two countries.
- Activating the legislation concerning the mechanism of payment from both sides – in Tunisian or Libyan dinars.
- Respecting the principles of trade based on acts of reciprocity.
- Removing any customs fees on goods entering from either country.
The Zliten Chamber noted ironically that all the statements aimed at improving trade between the two countries made at the Forum by attending legislators and executives from both sides agreed, yet solutions are not forthcoming. It asked rhetorically: Where is the fault and defect in improving bilateral trade?