The work of the Tunisian-African Business Council has concluded in Tunis with a set of recommendations, including 21 items that focused on enhancing trade exchange to and from Libya.
The participants called for establishing air routes with the Libyan cities of Sabha and Tobruk and activating the Sfax – Tripoli, Zarzis - Misrata maritime line to transport passengers and goods, besides developing border crossing points with intelligent facilities.
The council also recommended that Libya grants licenses for Tunisian commercial and service companies seeking to operate on its territory provided that Tunisia offers Libyans reciprocal treatment, as per a document issued by the Tunisian-Libyan Economic Forum on 12-13 October, in Sfax.
The working group tackled the area of road maintenance and emphasized the need to enhance bilateral cooperation in vocational training and exchanging experiences in this field and elsewhere.
They also called for measures to reinforce the presence of Tunisian and Libyan entrepreneurs in the two markets and to promote economic integration by establishing bilateral institutions and significant joint projects.
Within the Global Gateway program, the group suggested studying joint projects in the field of energy to forward them to the EU.
One of the pressing issues was the desert road, with the forum calling for the swift completion of the road linking Sabha, southern Libya, with Agadez, northern Niger, and creating economic and logistical zones at the most crucial crossing points.
The recommendations included a proposal to establish a Tunisian-Libyan investment fund to launch joint industrial projects targeting African markets.
In the area of infrastructure, both sides underscored the importance of establishing renewable energy power stations on the joint Tunisian-Libyan coasts, and linking them to the networks in Europe, as they urged the public and private relevant parties in both countries to coordinate in this field.
It may be worth noting that the Tunisian-Libyan Business Council and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Misrata agreed to hold a joint exhibition in Misrata from January 16 to 18, 2023, to strengthen the bilateral partnership further and prepare the ground for accessing the African markets together.