Libya & Belgium Discuss Economic Cooperation

On Saturday, the Belgian business organisation and the Libyan General Union of Chambers of Commerce convened a virtual economic roundtable to discuss ways to strengthen their business relationships.

Amel Al-Jerari, the Libyan Ambassador to Belgium, Mohamed Al-Raied, the Head of the Libyan General Union of Chambers, Qaysar Al-Hijazi, the Secretary-General of the Belgian Luxembourgish Arab Chamber of Commerce, and other government and business representatives from the two nations attended the event.

Al-Raied stated that the Libyan and Belgian parties had “made a commitment to take immediate action to mend fences, boost trade exchange, increase cooperation, and establish investments and partnerships in the oil, infrastructure, energy, renewable energy, desalination, development, and technical manpower sectors.”

Al-Raied reaffirmed Libya’s readiness to offer all facilities to expand the areas of cooperation, and urged Belgian businessmen to visit Libya to assess the country’s investment opportunities. Especially given the availability of all necessary resources to establish any type of industrial, agricultural, tourist, or service investments while benefiting from the advantages provided by the Libyan investment law, and the exemptions encouraged, Al-Raied called Libya a “gold mine” for investment opportunities.

Libya’s Ambassador to the European Union, Jalal Alashi received the Secretary General of the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ABLCC), Caesar Hijazi.

“He showed me the data on trade exchanges between Libya, Belgium, and European Union members. We discussed working to develop economic relations by organising visits and economic activities,” Alashi tweeted.

Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December 2021, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, who is leading the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.