Tunisian and Libyan businessmen and officials agreed to create a Tunisian-Libyan business centre that will provide training and support to young entrepreneurs in both countries, on the sidelines of the closing ceremony, Wednesday, of the “Libya Food” exhibition held from March 13 to 16 in Tripoli, Libya.
This centre should also ensure the Libyan participation in the next edition of the Business Fair which will be organised, on June 1st and 2nd, by the Business Centre of Sfax.
A forum will be created within the framework of the fair to discuss the situation and the prospects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Some 25 Tunisian companies active in various sectors of the agri-food industry and several Tunisian investment support structures, including the Sfax Business Centre, the Groupement Interprofessionnel des Produits de la Pêche (GIPP) and the Sfax Chamber of Commerce and Industry, took part in “Libya Food”.
Sea products, fish farming and canned food from the sea, which are in great demand by Libyans, are among the products on display at this exhibition.
This show in which also take part about 120 companies representing several countries such as Turkey, Libya and France has allowed the conclusion of agreements and the planning of joint activities of cooperation between the Chamber of Commerce of Sfax and the Business Centre of Sfax on the one hand and the Libyan economic companies and professional structures on the other hand.
The Tunisian and Libyan parties have agreed to organise economic events, in addition to the elaboration of joint cooperation and investment programmes in three main axes and specialities, during the next period.
These axes concern the development of partnerships in the fisheries and sea products sector intended for export or local consumption, the development of olive tree plantations in Libya and the boosting of partnership and cooperation in the field of energy and hydrocarbons.
The issues of improving the movement of goods and people at the Ras Jedir border crossing and simplifying customs procedures and waiting times were also at the centre of the two parties’ discussions.
Tunisian and Libyan participants stressed the need to identify practical measures to improve this situation.
President of the Sfax Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ridha Fourati stressed the importance of the opportunities offered to Tunisian-Libyan products in these sectors and which can be further developed at the European and African levels.
He considered that the integration between the two countries can be successfully implemented in these fields and in other economic disciplines.
For their part, Libyan officials have expressed their willingness to promote the establishment of partnerships with the Sfax Chamber through the organisation of business meetings, economic forums, exhibitions and joint investment programmes that include the public and private sectors.
The Tunisian participation in economic events held in Libya aims to strengthen trade between the two countries.
Trade between Tunisia and Libya in 2021 has grown by about 23% compared to 2020, from 1.2 billion dinars to more than 1.5 billion dinars.
