Türkiye, Libya sign deal on mining, energy, infrastructure

ISTANBUL

Türkiye and Libya signed an agreement Thursday focusing on cooperation in mining, energy and infrastructure.

The Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEIK), Türkiye-Libya Business Council, Libyan National Mining Corporation, Libya’s General Authority for Exhibitions and Conferences and Emaar Libya Holding Company signed the memorandum of understanding, which is also aimed at increasing bilateral trade volume in the three fields.

The agreement was signed by Murtaza Karanfil, Chairman of the DEIK Türkiye-Libya Business Council, and Fouad Al-Awwam, CEO of Emaar Libya Holding Company.

In his speech, Karanfil said that Türkiye's relations with Libya are rooted in a long history.

Noting that the agreement was signed with Emaar Holding, which has 30 companies under its umbrella and operates in many areas, particularly in industry, he said it is a company that has made many investments and opened up business areas, especially in the eastern and southern parts of Libya.

"As Turkish businesspeople, although we have been working with all of Libya, the cooperation we will establish with Emaar Holding to develop relations with the eastern part of the country will provide us with a significant advantage."

Speaking to Anadolu, Karanfil said that Türkiye's exports to Libya had fallen to $2.5 billion due to the instability in the North African country after 2014, remaining at this level for around the last 10 years, and that the total trade volume was around $4 billion currently.

He said the agreement aims to develop cooperation with eastern Libya, adding “we want to increase the trade volume even further.”

Drawing attention to the rich mineral deposits discovered in southern Libya in recent years, Karanfil said: “We asked them to provide us with maps of the mines, especially those in the south, and to inform us of the areas where they would like to prioritize investment and cooperation.”

"In return, we aim to bring Turkish mining to eastern Libya by arranging B2B meetings with our companies, if necessary.”

Pointing out that southern Libya has significant mineral reserves that attract the attention of many countries, Karanfil said: “Today, there are only six Turkish companies registered with the Libya Mining Group.”

"We want to increase this number and work with Libya, especially in the field of energy."

Libya is both the gateway to Africa and Africa's gateway to the world, he added.

Al-Awwam also said that Türkiye is a very strong country in terms of economy and energy.

"As Emaar Holding, we will sign agreements with Türkiye in these sectors,” he noted.

"At the same time, our efforts continue to bring the Turkish market to Libya, establish a sustainable market for Turkish products, and facilitate their distribution.”