On Sunday, the Libyan Minister of Economy and Trade, Mohamed Al-Hwaij held talks with heads of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture and a group of businessmen in Tripoli. This focused on collaboration with the private sector on food security.
The talks also highlighted the importance of “developing a vision to encourage private sector activity, to ensure the development of the national economy and achieve food and pharmaceutical security.” The attendees also stressed the “importance of enhancing cooperation between the private and public sector companies, in line with the current situation of the country and the need to allocate a proper budget for food security.”
Al-Hwaij affirmed that his ministry is “working to overcome the difficulties and obstacles facing the private sector and Libyan entrepreneurs,” according to a statement by the ministry.
He stressed the importance of agricultural projects, as a way to develop economic and food security. He pointed to the investment map implemented by the General Authority for Investment Promotion and Privatisation Affairs, affiliated with his ministry. This encourages local and foreign investors to find investment opportunities in Libya.
In December 2022, Al-Hwaij said that the Ministry aims to plant 20 million olive trees in various regions of the country. The Ministry recently launched the first national award of its kind for the best olive oil in Libya.
It announced that the Organising Committee of the Award will start receiving olive oil samples on Sunday, and will continue until 12 January. The closing ceremony of the award will be held on 9 February 2023.
The Award aims to support entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector, enhance its role in diversifying the economy and spatial development, and open new markets for local products,” the Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The Libyan Ministry of Agriculture planned to launch a project to save millions of olive trees by adopting a distillation system. The project was stopped due to a lack of funding, according to Libyan Agricultural expert, Hadi Khalaf.
In August, the Libyan Centre for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (LCRSSS) announced that Libya had been exposed to drought during the last three years. It also called for reducing the effects of the drought as soon as possible and declaring a state of emergency.
