Abdul Salam Al Badri, the former Deputy Prime Minister of the Libyan Interim Government said that Libya is in desperate need of a partner, like China, to develop the industrial and housing sectors. This especially since the Chinese workforce is very well trained, and they charge a lot less when compared to other countries.
In an interview with Libya Review, Al Badri said that the Chinese presence in Africa has great significance, because the Chinese goal is the growth of the countries they are in, not robbing their resources.
“The West has a shameful history of the enslavement of Africa and robbery of their huge national resources,” he noted.
The Libyan official highlighted that the Chinese companies have implemented a large part of the housing project that was due but, unfortunately, was not completed due to the civil war that plagued the country in 2011.
“China is capable of totally controlling the housing sector in Libya, especially that it is the first country in history to start global trading through the Silk Road,” the former Deputy Prime Minister stressed.
With regard to the investment opportunities in Libya, Al Badri said that the country is rich in metals that haven’t been discovered yet, such as uranium, steel, gold, and even some rare metals.
He pointed out that Libya is the 16th largest country in the world and is considered the gate of Europe to Africa and the Sahel region, as it has the longest coast in Africa and Europe, 1900km.
When asked about the current rivalry between the United States (US), Russia, and China over Libya, the former Deputy Prime Minister said that they are concerned with what’s in their best interest.
He also recalled the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) airstrikes against Libya, saying that the North African country was destroyed by foreign hands and not by its people.
NATO destroyed Libya through unjustified airstrikes and by supporting terrorism, which led to the full destruction of many cities.
Al Badri noted that almost 40% of Benghazi buildings were completely destroyed, adding that all Libyan cities have faced destruction due to the NATO airstrikes.
When asked about the Chinese and Taiwanese tensions, the former Deputy Prime Minister said that the island of Taiwan is a Chinese land and part of it.
“Logically, Hawaii is part of the US, and it’s thousands of miles away from San Francisco, can we say that it’s not part of the US?” Al Badri wondered.
He noted that Taiwan is only hundreds of kilometers away and not thousands, and it’s all Chinese, same language and race. “If China didn’t exist, there wouldn’t have been any balance of powers.”
“In the past, Libya was in a state of complete neutrality and acted in a logical manner,” he added.
He noted that the problem today is that China is close to the top of the world’s chart of powerful world economies and this is disturbing the US, which seeks to create weak Russia and China, so they can keep their world domination for a longer period.
Al Badri concluded his statements, saying that China is an important country, and according to the data available now, China is the second strongest economy in the world.
He stressed the need to promote Libya-China bilateral relations, not at a hawker’s level, but stronger ties at the state levels.
Full Interview: