Turkey, Libya start building partnership in Africa

“We consider Libya a significant partner in our strategy towards Africa. We want to benefit from your special position in the African continent and your experiences there; we also want to carry out joint projects in the region,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is paying the first prime ministerial visit to Libya in 13 years, said as he addressed a business forum on Tuesday evening.

Erdoğan had talks with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Tuesday in Gaddafi’s Bedouin tent at his Bab a-Azizia residence in Tripoli. On Wednesday, he oversaw a ceremony for signing the cooperation agreements together with his Libyan counterpart, al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi.

Contrary to the former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan’s visit 13 years ago -- when Gaddafi shocked Erbakan with his harsh criticism of Turkey for its treatment of Kurds and ties with Israel -- the atmosphere in the Erdoğan-Gaddafi meeting was warm, with Gaddafi praising Erdoğan for his government’s foreign policy moves.

The meeting between Gaddafi and Erdoğan, which took two-and-a-half hours was also attended by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, the state minister responsible for foreign trade, Zafer Çağlayan and Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım. A senior diplomat, speaking with the Cihan news agency on condition of anonymity, described Gaddafi’s approach towards Turkish officials as “positive.”

Libyan officials have voiced appreciation of Turkey’s foreign policy approach during the meeting, the Anatolia news agency reported, citing Turkish sources.

Delivering a speech at Turkey-Libya Business Forum on Tuesday evening, Erdoğan announced that they had conveyed President Abdullah Gül’s invitation to Gaddafi for paying an official visit to Turkey. There hasn’t been an official visit at the level of heads of state and governments from Libya to Turkey since the 1969 revolution.

Reiterating that Turkey aims to increase the number of its embassies in Africa from 13 to 27 by the end of this year, Erdoğan asked for Libya’s support in its moves towards Africa, underlining Libya’s leadership role in the continent.

A free trade agreement between Libya and Turkey, which is expected to be signed in the first half of 2010, will establish the ground for economic commercial relations, Erdoğan said.

The prime minister, who was accompanied by a delegation of 150 Turkish business leaders in Libya, said the two countries would establish a jointly-owned agricultural bank with capital of $1 billion. The bank would bolster Libyan investments in Turkish farming as the north African desert country seeks to secure food supplies for its growing population. He said he hoped yearly bilateral trade with Libya would grow to $10 billion within five years from an estimated $9.8 billion this year and $9.2 billion in 2008. Air flights between Libya and Turkey would be increased and a ferry route from İzmir in Turkey to Tripoli that was cancelled during the sanctions would reopen, he added.

Turkey was also looking for more direct shipments of Libyan oil, Maatoug Mohammed Maatoug, a Libyan government minister who is head of a Libyan-Turkish friendship committee, told Reuters news agency.

State Minister Çağlayan said Wednesday the number of projects that Turkish companies undertook in Libya would increase by 50 percent once the controversy surrounding the issue of letters of guarantee was resolved.

Turkish contractors have long complained that Libya refused to recognize letters of guarantee submitted by them. News reports said the issue was being resolved through contacts between Libyan and Turkish officials during the visit.

“Turkish contracting companies earlier paid $200 million in commission because letters of guarantee were not directly accepted in Libya,” Çağlayan said, noting that from now on letters of guarantee taken from state banks would be enough for Turkish investors to undertake projects in Libya.

The Turkish delegation was scheduled to depart from Libya on Wednesday evening following a joint press conference between Erdoğan and the Libyan prime minister.