Turkey and Libya expand bilateral trade
Turkey and Libya have extended their trade links thanks to the agreements signed at the recent meeting of the Libya-Turkey Business Platform in Istanbul, the financial heart of the Eurasian country.
The agreement was signed between the General Union of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Libya and the Turkish External Economic Relations Board (DEIK); both are the organisers of the trade summit which is a boost to bilateral trade between the Ottoman country and North Africa.
Over 100 Turkish producers and exporters and 200 Libyan businessmen were expected to collaborate in an event that has given a boost to the economic relationship between the two nations. This shows the very close link between the Libyan executive recognised by the United Nations, the National Accord Government (GNA) of Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, and Turkey led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which developed, above all, based on the important pact reached in November last year whereby the Eurasian nation secured military support for the GNA in the civil war that pitted it against the other eastern Tobruk executive that is allied with Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA). This understanding reached between Sarraj and Erdogan also involved the sharing of exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean that are rich in hydrocarbon resources. And the progress made in bringing the positions of the GNA and the Tobruk government closer together following the Geneva and Moroccans negotiations is also demonstrated, enabling progress to be made and Libyan economic sectors to be opened up.
The trade meeting in Istanbul was attended by officials, including members of the Libyan House of Representatives and members of the High Council of State, as well as members of the private sector and non-governmental organisations. Both sides stressed that there is enormous trade potential between the North African and Eurasian country in the coming years, as reported by the Libya Herald.
By 2010, the volume of bilateral trade had reached 10 billion dollars and Turkish contractors have carried out projects in Libya worth 29 billion dollars since 1972. In 2019, the volume of bilateral trade was reported to be around 2.5 billion dollars, with Turkey being Libya's second largest source of trade. Defence, raw vegetables and fruits, cement, chemicals, furniture and cereals topped the list of Ottoman exports to Libya.
Despite the impact the coronavirus health crisis is having on world trade, Turkey's exports to Libya are expected to increase for the year as a whole. This was highlighted at the Libya-Turkey Business Platform event.
