ZAGREB, Aug 10 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic travels on Monday to Libya for a five-day official visit, which is aimed at promoting economic cooperation.
ZAGREB, Aug 10 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic travels on
Monday to Libya for a five-day official visit, which is aimed at
promoting economic cooperation. #L#
This is Mesic's first visit to Libya since he took up his office.
He last paid an official visit to the country in 1991 in his capacity
as the parliament president. Although the official part of the
programme of his visit will not be known until his arrival in Libya,
Mesic will definitely meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and take
part in talks at the Libyan chamber of commerce and the ministry of
economy along with a large delegation of Croatian business people.
A delegation of some 40 business people from around 20 companies
will accompany Mesic on his trip. In the former Yugoslavia, dozens
of Croatian companies operated in Libya. Mesic wants to revive that
cooperation, which at one time provided employment to thousands of
Croatian workers. According to sources close to Mesic, the interest
of business people in the visit is unprecedented. One charter
flight has already been booked and there are plans to send another
business delegation to Libya in several months.
Possibilities for business cooperation between Libyan and foreign
companies were created four years ago, when the United Nations
lifted sanctions imposed on the country due to its support for
international terrorism. Libya has been increasingly opening up to
the world and Croatian business people have a good chance of taking
good starting positions in business in Libya thanks to the
successful cooperation in the past.
In an interview with Sarajevo's "Dnevni avaz" daily of Friday,
Mesic said that Libya was planning to build 2,000 kilometres of
highways and as many kilometres of railways, adding that he would
lobby with Gaddafi for Croatian and Bosnian companies landing the
job.
Stefanija Balog, director of the Architectural Studio and one of
the people who helped arrange the visit thanks to her good business
connections in Libya, has told the Croatian media recently that the
talks in Tripoli would focus on oil research and the distribution of
oil via the refinery in Rijeka, Croatia's assistance in the revival
of Libya's agriculture, and cooperation in the pharmaceutical,
shipbuilding and construction industries.
Every business move Croatia makes in Libya will be closely
monitored by the United States, which despite sanctions against
Libya being lifted by the U.N. has still not lifted its sanctions
against the country. US trade sanctions have been in force since
1986 and Libya has been appearing every year on the US list of
countries supporting terrorism. The European Union, too, has
banned trade with Libya in weapons or materials which may be used
for military purposes. Croatia is not an exception in this case
because the US carefully follows every country's business
cooperation with Libya.
Libya was the first non-European country to recognise Croatia (on
16 March, 1993) and several days ago it opened its resident embassy
in Croatia. President Mesic is the first European president to
visit Libya since the introduction and suspension of UN sanctions.
The last Croatian politician to visit Libya was Foreign Minister
Tonino Picula, who travelled there last December. On that occasion,
the two countries signed agreements on economic cooperation and
trade, on the promotion and protection of investments, and on
cooperation between their foreign ministries. Bilateral trade in
2002 totalled a modest five million dollars, of which Croatia's
exports accounted for slightly less than two million. In the first
half of this year, trade increased to seven million dollars,
however, imports from Libya accounted for most of the increase.
(hina) rml