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The President of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Mohamed Al-Raied, attended the activities of the First Arab-Hellenic Maritime Conference in the Greek capital, Athens, from 5 to 6 July.
The conference included the participation of several Libyan companies and international companies specialized in the field of maritime navigation, maritime transport, handling, shipbuilding, various marine equipment, and the construction of ports and docks.
The maritime sector is important to Libya.
Speaking exclusively to Libya Herald, Al-Raied said that the participation of the General Libyan Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and the various Libyan shipping and marine services companies in the conference was to confirm the importance of Libya in the maritime industry and the economics of maritime transport. This, he continued, is especially since Libya has a long Mediterranean coast with several commercial and oil ports spread across it with constant active Maritime traffic.
An opportunity to establish maritime partnerships
Al-Raied referred to the discussion of strengthening Arab-Greek maritime economic cooperation, considering the conference an important opportunity for participating Libyan businessmen who are active in the field of handling and maritime navigation to work on establishing partnerships and bilateral investments with their Arab and Greek counterparts.
The General Union supports Libya’s national maritime strategy
He stressed that the General of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for the national strategy for maritime transport, which pushes for the exploitation of the sea for transportation between Libyan cities and travel on board ships to other countries, due to the various advantages enjoyed by sea transport, including low operational costs, as well as benefiting from tourism advantages. ‘‘This sector is important for any country that has a long coastline like Libya’’, he emphasised.
Maritime transport offers good financial return
The head of the General Union said there are good financial returns to be gained from maritime transport by taking advantage of the transit revenues of several international shipping lines that unload the containers of other countries in Libyan ports, especially the port of the Misrata Free Zone, which provides maritime transit services for several shipping lines with high efficiency.
It is noteworthy that during the session on Egyptian-Libyan-Greek maritime cooperation and work, Al-Raied and the Libyan delegation present in Greece affirmed Libya’s desire to enhance cooperation with Egypt and Greece in the maritime field, as they form an important and strategic navigational triangle with Libya in the southeastern Mediterranean.
