Erhan Celik, Chairman of the Nobel Group of Companies, “Nobel Group of Companies will be a joint operator covering all fairgrounds in Libya.”
Speaking at the signing ceremony held at the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) between Libya and Turkiye, Celik said that the historical ties between the two countries will become much stronger, especially in terms of economy and exports.
Celik said, “We will carry Turkiye’s experience, portfolio and data of approximately 50 years of fair organization to Libya. As the number of fairs in Libya and the quality of fairs increase, Libya’s economy will become stronger. In the light of the developments in the last year, we have witnessed that peace has been established in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, and that trade can be done easily in the whole of Libya.
Those who want to do business not only in Turkiye, but in all countries of the world, who want to participate in the fairs, can come to Libya with peace of mind and with much more comprehensive fairs.”
Celik said the following, “The fair industry in Turkiye is no longer just organizing domestic and international fairs. With today’s agreement, it is also advancing to international fair businesses abroad. We started the first step with a similar agreement at the Ural Expo fairground in the Ural region of Russia, and we are continuing the negotiations for the transfer of the entire area to Turkiye within the current month.”
Hopefully, we will have completed it in a short time and the international fair operation abroad, which was the first in Turkiye, will continue with Libya as the second.”
Celik underlined that the name of the first hall in the fair to be opened in Libya will be Mavi Homeland and then continue as Omer Muhtar.
Esam Abujella Aloul, head of the Libyan fairs administration, stated that he was happy with this step taken between Turkiye and Libya.
Aloul, “This agreement has an inclusive importance between Libya and Turkiye. I hope this fair agreement will lead to a comprehensive continuation in construction and other sectors.”
Stating that this alliance will be valid among all establishments, Aloul said, “I would like to thank especially the trade ministers of Turkiye and Libya.”
“In the last 2-3 years, our trade volume with Libya has exceeded $4 billion”
DEİK Turkiye-Libya Business Council President Murtaza Karanfil said that Turkiye has had a natural bond with Libya throughout history.
Karanfil continued his words as follows:
“We are like flesh and nails with Libya. It is impossible to separate and break it. Libya is a sister country that is our strategic partner in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is also a door to Africa in terms of its geopolitical position. Our historical brotherhood, Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s preparation of Libyans for the Italian resistance in 1911, Libya’s stance in 1974 and our standing with Libya in 2020, shows the closeness of the two faithful and historical countries.
Our trade volume was $96 million in the 2000s. In 2011, it was $1 billion. In the last 2-3 years, our trade volume with Libya has exceeded $4 billion, but this is not enough for us. Our Libyan brothers and we believe in this that we will hopefully reach the target of our trade to reach $15 billion. In this respect, the importance of the agreement signed today is very important.”
Salahedden F.M Alkasah, Consul General of Libya in Istanbul, stated that he believes this agreement will reach better levels in the future.
Stating that 6 fairs will be held in Libya within a year through Nobel Expo, Alkasah noted that their second goal is to introduce Turkiye to the African market through Libya and that they want to introduce the Turkish industry in Africa.
Alkasah said, “I believe that Africa will benefit from the fairs to be held in Libya. I believe that other African cities in Misrata, Benghazi and Tripoli will also benefit. We will do our best to ease all difficulties.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz