On Wednesday, Libya’s Afriqiyah Airways announced that it held meetings with the French company Airbus to boost the aviation industry in Libya. The French side expressed readiness to support Libyan airline companies.
This came during the Libyan-French Transport Forum organised by the Libyan-French Chamber of Commerce and the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Paris.
The Forum, which concluded on Tuesday in Paris, featured representatives from various French institutions and companies specialising in different modes of transportation—air, sea, and land.
Libyan officials and experts also participated in the event.
The Forum aimed to explore French capabilities, learn about modern technologies in various transportation sectors, and identify Libyan needs in this crucial industry. The goal is to contribute to driving economic growth and achieving comprehensive and sustainable development in Libya.
In March 2022, the former CEO of Airbus, Edward Olmos, was arrested. The investigating judges suspect him of receiving undue commissions for the sale of 12 planes to Libya.
The former executive is charged with “complicity in corruption, active bribery, criminal association, and money laundering.”
Throughout this time, Airbus claimed that it “cooperated with the authorities as part of a French judicial investigation concerning Libya. Accordingly, the company responded positively to the authorities’ requests for information.”
According to the French newspaper, Libération, Olmos is accused of issuing an order to pay two million euros to Sarkozy’s business manager, Alexandre Djouhri, after the sale of 12 planes to Libya in 2006.
During the investigation, Djouhri admitted to receiving bribes. The intermediary, who was seen wearing an Airbus badge during the contract signing, was linked to Bashir Saleh, a close associate of Gaddafi.
Earlier this week, delegates from the Libyan Parliament-designated government returned from Jordan on Saturday. As per a statement, the delegates were welcomed under the directives of Prime Minister Osama Hammad and direct instructions from the Minister of Labour, Abdullah Al-Sharif Arhouma, after completing a 60-day external training program in Information Technology and Networking “CCNA” in Amman.
The trainees expressed their gratitude to Hammad for his unwavering support in youth training and qualification. They also extended their appreciation to Arhouma for initiating the program, and his continuous personal oversight during their stay in Jordan, ensuring all challenges were addressed.