A delegation from the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), composed of 43 firms and representatives from all sectors of the Egyptian industrial and commercial community, visited Benghazi last week to participate in the Libyan-Egyptian Industrial and Trade Forum.

The event, organised by the Benghazi Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Emaar Libya Holding Company, and the Egyptian Export Council for Engineering Industries, gave the delegation’s members an opportunity to meet representatives of many Libyan business entities.

The two sides agreed to establish a comprehensive industrial complex in Libya where factories will be using mostly raw Egyptian materials. The complex will serve as a trade corridor to Algeria, Tunisia and other African markets.

They also agreed to set up permanent “Made in Egypt” exhibitions in Tripoli and Benghazi and discussed openings for Egyptian investments in the tourism sector in Libya which has begun to implement an ambitious tourist development project on the Libyan coast.

The FEI took pains to ensure that all of Egypt’s industrial sectors were represented at the forum, the president of the Federation of Industries Mohamed Al-Bahi told Al-Ahram Weekly, noting that Libyans will need most of these sectors for the reconstruction of their country following years of unrest.

Several agreements during the forum were signed between Egyptian and Libyan counterparts in various industrial and commercial sectors, primarily in the pharmaceutical sector. Among the most significant was building an industrial complex in Tripoli with Wazan for Steel and Metal and another complex in Benghazi.

Another agreement provides for an artificial ice factory in Misrata for pharmaceutical and industrial uses, equipping it with air-conditioners and other equipment.

Three agreements were signed in the IT sector involving the provision of IT systems, training services in business training centres in Tripoli and Benghazi, and training services for students at Alassema University in Tripoli.

Under another agreement, the Egyptian Chamber of Woodworking and Furniture Industries will supply major factories in Libya with wood.

Alaa Nasr, a member of the chamber and chairman of the Al-Karim Foundation, said he expected certain challenges regarding work and doing business in Libya. One difficulty is transferring money from Libya to Egypt due to problems with the Libyan Central Bank.

Egyptians working in Libya must use unofficial means to transfer money back home, Nasr said. “If this issue persists, it will put the brakes on our manufacturers’ activities in Libya.”

Egyptian exports to Libya saw a significant increase last year, reaching $1.621 billion from January to the end of November in 2023, up from $1.085 billion during the same period the previous year, or nearly a 50 per cent increase. Egyptian exports to Libya accounted for 49.6 per cent of Egypt’s total exports to the Arab Common Market countries.

According to Osama Saadeddin, executive director of FEI’s real estate development division, the question of money transfers was among the issues raised during a meeting with the Libyan minister of economy. Another question concerned workers’ safety and whether they would be allowed entry into Libya with a national ID or if lengthier security procedures would be required.

Business opportunities in real estate development projects are numerous, Saadeddin said, but he added that Libyans do not have an investment map showing the available opportunities in Tripoli or Benghazi or project profiles describing the nature of the project and whether it is for industrial, real estate or administrative purposes.

He said he had met a representative from the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) to inquire about possible opportunities for foreigners to own property in Libya. Such information is important to Egyptian developers who would be interested in marketing the products they develop in Libya outside the domestic market. Libya’s population is only six million, meaning the domestic market alone is not large enough to ensure profits in the real estate sector.  

Saadeddin added that the executive director of Emaar Libya for Construction and Development will be invited to the third industrial forum to be held in Cairo in November to showcase his firm and present its real estate investment map.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 31 October, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly