ROME (ITALPRESS) – The city of Benghazi, in eastern Libya, is preparing to host Italian businesses interested in expanding into Libyan territory as part of what will be the Libya-Italy Economic Forum. From June 24 to 27, the Italian-Libyan Chamber of Commerce will hold this business initiative in collaboration with the Fund for the Reconstruction and Development of Libya, led by Belqasem Haftar, the son of Khalifa Haftar. This comes just days after Libya’s House of Representatives allocated approximately 69 billion Libyan dinars (about 14.2 billion USD) to his budget, following the reconstruction of Derna and the launch of numerous development projects in Cyrenaica.
This initiative is taking shape despite ongoing instability in western Libya, where militias continue to clash for control of Tripoli. In contrast, the east of the country has long been stable, as Nicola Colicchi, President of the Italian-Libyan Chamber of Commerce, told Italpress, “with Cyrenaica experiencing an economic boom.”
According to Colicchi, an Italian entrepreneur with deep knowledge of the Libyan context, “both public and private investments are multiplying in the region, and Italian enterprises — everything that represents Italian branding and production, which is well-loved in Libya — are finding fertile ground there. Our business fabric includes not only major companies but also many small and medium-sized enterprises, which interface well with the Libyan business system. On one side, there are well-organized holding companies, and on the other, a growing network of SMEs creating major opportunities for partnerships in technology and business expertise.”
Colicchi adds that “Cyrenaica is truly a gateway to the vast sub-Saharan African market for businesses.” Politically speaking, he notes that “in terms of Italy-Libya relations overall, the Italian government and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have shown strong commitment to maintaining a balanced approach with both sides of the country. Meloni is the only European head of government to have visited Benghazi, helping foster closer ties and leading to an exchange of visits.”
Colicchi also highlights that “the CEO of the Reconstruction and Development Fund, Belqasem Haftar, is currently the most important client in Libya, overseeing major investments. They have completed the reconstruction of Derna and funded many public projects in sectors such as healthcare and infrastructure. His organization is highly agile, entrepreneurial in approach, and technically advanced and precise. That’s why we are engaging with them — they are extremely business-oriented.” As such, the Benghazi event will be significant — “a kind of major inauguration for structured economic relations between Italy and Cyrenaica.”
So far, Italian businesses have had limited penetration in eastern Libya, making this a crucial moment, marked by an event of strong international relevance that symbolizes the beginning of a relationship between partners who aim to become preferential counterparts to one another.
In a statement, the Italian-Libyan Chamber of Commerce explained that “the main objective is to attract Italian companies with proven experience” in key sectors such as:
* Construction (infrastructure projects),
* Services (healthcare, education, maritime and air logistics),
* Engineering and Consulting (urban and civil planning, architectural and interior design, mega-project management),
* Agriculture and Environment (sustainability, desertification control, green urban planning),
* Pre-ready projects and upcoming tenders,
* Private Partnerships (between companies focused on entrepreneurship and innovation, and between incubators and business accelerators),
* Human Development and Research,
* Sustainable Tourism Development (hotel management, land and maritime transport, port hubs).
The Chamber expressed the hope to “launch direct partnerships that address development priorities.” Within this framework, the initiative “aims to deepen bilateral relations and expand the scope of commercial cooperation between Libya and Italy — a long-standing and strategic partner in multiple areas”.
-Photo Camera di commercio italo-libica-
(ITALPRESS).
