Mediterranean Countries in Full Force At Tripoli Fair Panafrican News Agency (Dakar) April 2, 2001 Posted to the web April 3, 2001 Ali Dellali Tripoli, Libya The 30th edition of the Tripoli International Trade Fair opened Monday and will continue until 12 April. With 34 countries attending, this year's edition marks a record since the lifting of sanctions imposed against Libya over the Lockerbie affair. Libyan official sources said the sanctions took a heavy toll on the national economy and caused losses estimated at over 26 billion US dollars. Maghreb and Machrek nations such as Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria are largely represented at the fair. Companies from the European Union are also strongly represented, with no less than 74 from Italy, 66 from France, 40 from the United Kingdom and 33 from Germany. The massive presence of Italian companies at the Tripoli fair reaffirms the role of Italy, Libya's major economic partner in Europe, as a bridge between Europe and Libya, said a diplomat at the Italian embassy who attended the opening ceremony. Italy has always defended the importance of Libya's role in enhancing co-operation on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea. Italian foreign minister Lamberto Dinni was the first western official to visit Libya after the sanctions were lifted on 6 April 1999. France also maintained good relations with Libya, despite the difficult situation over the bombing of a UTA plane and the Lockerbie affair. French oil companies Total and ELF got a fair share of the Libyan oil market. This explains the presence of 66 French companies at the Tripoli fair, a French participant said. As for the UK, it has already marked its return to the Libyan market, after 15 years of severed relations, through the British Trade Fair held last May with direct participation of 60 companies, including Royal Dutch/Shell, an Anglo-Dutch oil giant, and British Gas. The two companies also have a keen interest in Libya's vast oil and gas reserves. Companies from EU countries taking part in the fair operate in the sectors of machine tools, furniture, oil, petrochemistry, motor vehicles, clothing and services such as banking and maritime transport. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
