ZAGREB, February 8, 2018 – Libya is calling on Croatian companies, both new and those that have already done business in that country, to return and complete their jobs, which will give them certain priority in future jobs on that market now that the situation in the country is stabilising, Libyan Ambassador to Croatia Rashed S. A. Abughuf told a Croatian-Libyan economic forum held at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) on Thursday.
The forum was held at the HGK and Libyan embassy’s initiative and even though similar forums were held regularly in the past, this is the first one in ten years, which is due to the political instability in Libya over the past ten years. Several Croatian companies that had done business in Libya for years, withdrew as a result of the instability. Some of those companies left all their equipment behind.
HGK president Luka Burilović underscored the interest shown by the Croatian food, timber and oil industries as well as the electricity sector, geo-seismic research sector, IT, construction and pharmaceuticals, evidenced by the fact that representatives of about 50 companies from both countries attended the forum.
“Croatian companies are well known in Libya because they were present there for many years and the cooperation with them was good, however due to unfortunate circumstances they withdrew and now when the situation in the country is stabilising, we are pleased that we can once again host a forum like this, which shows that there is plenty of room for further cooperation. As a member of the EU, Croatia can offer a lot to Libyan business people regarding their entry to the large EU market,” Burilović said.
Ambassador Abughuf emphasised that the situation in Libya was now more stable and the security situation good and that the embassy was prepared to facilitate visa issuance procedures for that country.
During the forum, Burilović signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the president of the Libyan Union of Chambers of Commerce, Mohamed Raied.
Raied underscored Libya’s desire for a joint chamber of commerce of the two countries to be established and added that Libya was counting on Croatia as a friendly country to help it. He stressed that “Libya is the door to Africa,” a big market where numerous foreign large companies are active, including Siemens, with contracts worth billions of dollars.
According to the latest data held by the State Bureau of Statistics for Jan – Nov 2017 on trade between the two countries, Croatia’s exports to Libya amounted to 2.9 million euro, 62% less on the year while imports from Libya amounted to 116.7 million euro, an increase of almost 50%.
