Yassin Abousriouil, the Head of the Afro E-co conference said that Tunisia is set to host a joint Libya, Tunisia and Algeria conference from the 1st to the 2nd March this year.
The event, which will be held under the slogan of “Africa towards a Free & Digital Economy”, is jointly organized by the International Five Consulting and OutBox Team in partnership with l’Union Tunisienne de l’Industrie, du Commerce et de l’Artisanat (UTICA) and the Libyan National Planning Council.
He added that the conference will enhance the role of the digital and free economy in Africa, hailing the huge capabilities of the three countries bordering the Mediterranean in creating new investment opportunities.
Commenting about the aims of the conference during a meeting in Tripoli on Saturday, the Libyan National Planning Council said that it seeks cooperation with the Tunisian Federation of Trade and Industry the reconstruction of modern Libya in cooperation with friendly and brotherly African countries.
It explained that the conference is an opportunity to exchange expertise and partnership between the public and private sectors in African countries.
In addition, it also aims at guiding the three Arab countries on the path to achieving comprehensive and sustainable economic growth.
Notably, the African Development Bank confirmed, in November 2021, that the Libyan economy was severely affected by three shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a collapse in oil prices, and a steep drop in tourism.
In its report, the bank said that the Libyan economy is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels due to oil, the vaccination campaign, and greater trade. It warned against the repercussions of increasing reliance on internal cross-borrowing by Libyan authorities to secure their financing needs.
The report finds that if the pandemic continues into 2022 and beyond, some North African countries, especially Libya will likely face liquidity problems in servicing their debt repayments.
The crisis has also significantly eroded fiscal space. Amid prospects for a protracted recovery in key sources of income for the region – oil and tourism – oil exporters faced a double impact brought about by lockdowns and severe oil market fluctuations. This was particularly the case for Libya.