Tripoli_The return of at least five Turkish companies to Libya to resume executing projects came to a halt in 2011 could be happening soon.
This possible development was under discussion in Tripoli on Thursday 18 June between the Legal Adviser to the Minister of Economy and Trade, Shather Abdel Hamid Essade, and the Turkish Commercial Counselor at the Turkish Embassy in Libya, Yusuf Yildiz, the Libyan News Agency reported.
During the meeting the two officials reviewed the status of a number of Turkish holding companies wishing to resume their work in the country, including the obstacles that they may face, and the role of the Ministry of Economy and Trade could play in order to overcome them.
Ms. Essade said the meeting came in response to Minister Mohamed Huwaij’s instructions to do so. During a meeting a few days ago with the Turkish Ambassador to Libya in which the return of Turkish companies was discussed, Minister Huwaij agreed to explore the possibility of allowing the return of at least five main companies to the country as a first step.
A political expert told The Tripoli Post that Turkish companies are racing with time to try to reestablish their presence in Libya aiming to grasp part of the coming rebuilding boom.
The expert, who declined to be named, said both Turkish political officials and business people are worrying that if they cannot grant a presence now at a time of political instability in the country, they might not be able to do so when there is a strong independent central government after the general elections scheduled for December this year.
“The competition will become tougher on Turkish companies in the future as they have to compete with American, European, Arab, Russian and Chinese companies to get a piece of the pie. And this is especially so if Ankara is convinced to withdraw its troops from western Libya and scale down its influence there,” the expert added.