TRIPOLI – A Turkish business delegation of 25 companies from the Tumsiad Industrial and Businessmen Association visited the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce and the Libyan Businessmen Council. The 25 companies were in the clothes, cloth, furniture, printing and advertising, contracting, olive presses, construction material, kitchenware, road drainage, car accessories, decoration, perfumes, makeup, cleaning materials, doors, cement mixers, energy and petrol and aluminium sectors. Tumsiad has over 15,000 members with 3,000 members in Istanbul and 15 branches all over the world. After being welcomed by the acting head of the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce, Ahmed El Faghi, the Turkish Commercial Counsellor, Yusuf Yildiz, noted that trade between Libya and Turkey had already reached the 2010 levels. He noted that the Libyan state sector had not fully resumed its activities and so concluded that most of this trade was being conducted by the private sectors. ‘‘We have good relations with the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce and we look forward to having equally good relations with other Libyan Chambers of Commerce such as Benghazi, Misrata and Zawia etc,'' concluded Yildiz. In his word, Tumsiad Istanbul branch President and Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Assembly member Eyup Topal said: “we feel at home here. We are visiting on this trip with around 30 companies. We are encouraged by our Prime Minister to visit nations. After the removal of visas between our two countries, trade has increased by 200 per cent. We would like to share our expertise so that we can earn and profit together. There is currently about US$ 1.9 billion of trade between the two countries – excluding the construction sector. We hope to raise it to 5 and US$ 10 billion,'' Topal concluded. In the afternoon, Oguzhan Kokosmanli, Deputy Commercial Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy, Tumsiad Istanbul branch President and Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Assembly member Eyup Topal and Foreign Relations Commissioner Muhamed Selim visited the Libyan Businessmen Council (LBC). Issa Baba, General Manager, board members and Chairman of Nour Alhait Fishery Company Aladdin Wefati and Khaled Ben Koura chairman of Azure Oil and Gas Procurement Group welcomed the Turkish delegation. Turkish-Libyan history and business relations were discussed and the Turkish delegation presented the LBC with a commemorative plaque as well as appointing the members the first Libyan members of the Tumsiad Industrial and Businessmen Association. Tumsiad also invited the LBC to sign a memorandum of cooperation and extended them an invitation to visit them in Istanbul. – Libya Herald
