Free Economic Zones in Libya: Workshop to Follow Up on National Strategy
In the framework of the technical support provided by the E-NABLE project, implemented by Expertise France and funded by the European Union for a sustainable and resilient Libyan economy, a workshop on free zones was held in the Tunisian capital on the 16th-18th of August 2023. The workshop aimed to follow up on the mechanisms for developing a comprehensive national strategy for free zones to expand trade, improve the investment climate, and support economic growth and diversification in Libya.
The workshop was attended by the team appointed by the Ministry of Economy and Trade to work on the free zone strategy, which is composed of the relevant authorities and institutions and is headed by Mr. Nouri Qatta’i, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade for Free Zones. Mr. Mohamed Al-Aswad, Deputy Director of Programs at Expertise France, was also present in the workshop, which Mr. Kevin O’Connor, an international expert in free zones, supervised.
The workshop covered all aspects of the comprehensive national strategy for free trade zones and transit trade in Libya and the priority free zones for the Ministry of Economy and Trade.
Some best practices from international experiences were also presented, including Tangier Automotive City, a free zone dedicated to automobile manufacturing in Tangier, Morocco. During the workshop, participants worked to design a pilot model for free zones in Libya and investigate the local and regional constraints related to it.