During a visit to Malaysia accompanied by a delegation of Libyan businessmen, the President of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Mohamed Al-Raied, signed a memorandum of understanding in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, with the head of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce.
The memorandum aims to develop economic relations between Libya and Malaysia in all fields, in addition to stipulating the establishment of the joint Libyan-Malaysian Chamber to be the point of contact between the two countries.
The signing ceremony was attended by the head of the UTP Training Department on the Malaysian side and a group of Malaysian companies, businessmen and industrialists, who were invited by the head of the General Union of Libyan Chambers to visit Libya next May.
The Malaysian side welcomed the Libyan delegation consisting of members of the Libyan-Malaysian Chamber and a group of businessmen. For his part, Raied expressed his aspiration to translate the outcomes of this visit and the memorandum of understanding into a tangible enhancement of cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of education, training, health care, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, planning, oil and gas, and renewable energy.
Speaking exclusively to Libya Herald, Mohamed Al-Raied, said that there is a tendency in Libya to open prospects for broad cooperation with several countries in Asia, led by Malaysia, which has good relations and cooperation with Libya in several fields. These include education, the export of some goods and services, various foodstuffs, building materials, clothing, and household electrical materials.
High quality and punctuality
He said the Malaysian industry is characterized by high quality and adherence to international standards in terms of health and safety, in addition to punctuality in delivery times for the benefit of Libyan merchants, who are already manufacturing some of their products in Malaysian factories.
Transfer technology to establish local industries
Al-Raied added that the conclusion of this agreement further enhances cooperation to build a true partnership between businessmen in Libya and Malaysia. This is with the aim to localise industries and transfer technology from Malaysia to Libya and benefit from Malaysian expertise in various fields to raise the efficiency of Libyan national cadres to establish high quality local industries as is the case in Malaysian industries.
Use Libya as a commercial centre for transit trade
Raied confirmed the welcome of the Malaysian side to the offer to make Libya a commercial centre for Malaysian products to be re-exported to neighbouring countries and Europe. This, he added, is especially the case for the landlocked African countries located south of the Sahara, in implementation of the plan to make Libya an important centre for international transit trade towards the African continent.
Foreign partners working on infrastructure for transit trade
In this regard, he said, what is lacking in Libya is to start implementing the necessary infrastructure for the transit trade, including roads and logistical services necessary for transit trade, and this is what foreign partners are working on.
Exhibition of Malaysian products to be held in Libya
Raied said there is a desire by the Malaysian side to hold an exhibition of Malaysian products in Libya, the date and place of which will be announced soon.
