Mohamed Hwej, the Minister of Economy and Trade in the Tripoli-based Libyan government, met on Tuesday the Chairman of the Libyan-Turkish Business Council, Murtaza Karanfil, in the presence of the Minister’s Advisor, Ms. Shather Al-Said, the Commercial Attache at the Libyan Consulate in Istanbul, Omar Darhoub, and the head of the General Exhibitions Authority, Issam Al-Awl.
The meeting was following up on the ongoing preparations for holding the Turkish Industries Exhibition in the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi at the end of this year. The event will include the participation of business owners and major Turkish companies, with the aim of networking relations and establishing partnerships between Libyan and Turkish companies and presenting the investment opportunities available in Libya.
Old but renewed relationship binds Libya and Turkey
Commenting exclusively to Libya Herald about the meeting, the head of the General Authority for Exhibitions, Issam Al-Awl, said that Libyan-Turkish cooperation in organizing exhibitions, economic forums and commercial meetings in both countries has been going on for years. This, he added, will continue in the coming years based on the old but renewed relationship that binds many Libyan companies and owners that do business with Turkish companies in all fields. These range from clothing, through the food industry, to general contracting and construction.
High volume of trade between Libya and Turkey
The head of the General Authority for Exhibitions pointed out that the volume of economic cooperation between Libya and Turkey is the most prominent, especially since Turkey supplies a lot of goods, equipment and machinery and provides a lot of medical and educational services to Libyans. He said there is a presence of investors from both sides investing their money in both countries, so Al-Awl believes that it has become necessary to hold Turkish exhibitions in various fields to learn more about the goods and services offered by companies in Turkey, as well as to see the investment opportunity, whether in Libya or Turkey.
Al-Awal noted the importance of holding these exhibitions in Tripoli and Benghazi, given that the two cities enjoy growing commercial activity, especially with the reconstruction movement in them and the resumption of stalled development projects in which Turkish companies have a fair share. Additionally, the two cities have a good population density and vital institutions with points of commercial and economic attraction which creates high-profit investment opportunities.
Al-Awal also revealed that there is a plan to establish several international exhibitions in several Libyan cities in the east, west and south of the country.
