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Libya Business Weekly - Issue 1 - 18.01.2013
Libya Business Weekly - Issue 1 - 18.01.2013
Libya Business Weekly - Issue 1 - 18.01.2013
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issue 01
Contents
P1 Note from Editor: From Potential to Progress International Perspective Regional Focus Progress ..continued Government acts to prevent disruption in Oil Industry Security Business in brief Feature
P2 P3 P4 P5
P6 P7-8 P9
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International Perspective
new US charg d Affaires to Libya William roebuck arrives in Tripoli - 08.01.2013 Mr. Roebuck has been in the US Foreign Service since 1992 with a number of foreign postings in the Middle East including Political Officer in the US Consulate in Jerusalem (1995-1997), Political Officer in the US Embassy in Tel Aviv (2000-2003), Political Counsellor and acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Damascus (2004-2007). In a statement Mr. Roebuck who speaks Arabic said he is looking forward to working with the Libyan government and the Libyan people as the US continues to build the relationship between the two countries. clinton to Testify on Libya Assault Before leaving office Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is due to testify before the Senate and House foreign affairs panels on the deadly September 11 assault in Libyas second city Benghazi which resulted in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens on Jan. 22. Obama has nominated Senator John Kerry to replace her.
India confirms commitment to assisting Libya rebuild and develop president of Gnc leads major government delegation to Italy 09.01.13 - The President of Libyas General National Congress (GNC), Mohamed Magarief, believes that the relationship between Libya and Italy is strategic due to it being based on common interests. Italys Foreign Minister, Giulio Terzi, opened the Italy-Libya economic forum by saying that Libya has reached a crucial stage. Magarief arrived in Rome with five members of Congress and a selection of high ranking Officials and Ministers representing the Libyan Oil, Economy, Planning and Industry ministries as well as being accompanied by Libyas Deputy Prime Minister, Awad Al-Barasi. Magarief will meet with Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano, as well as the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Giafranco Fini. The Libyan Ministers on the delegation will meet with their Italian counterparts separately. prime Ali Zidan holds talks with Qataris premier in doha 16.01.2013 In his talks with Qatari premier, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani, and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Nasser bin Jassim AlThani. Libyas Prime Minister Ali Zidan was accompanied by Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mohamed Abdulaziz, Chief of Staff General Yousef Mangoush and intelligence Chief General Salim Hassi looked at ways of furthering the close relationship between the two countries which has deepened following the Qatars support for the Libyan revolution. The possibility of Qatar establishing Centres to help train young Libyans was raised by the Libya premier. through investment - 09.01.13 The Indian Ambassador to Libya, Anil Trigunayat, says that India has supported Libya throughout the revolution with Indian companies offering their camps to the revolutionaries and despite huge losses to their equipment, Indian companies have paid all their dues and continued to employ their Libyan staff. As well as major Indian construction and infrastructure companies being actively engaged in Libya, the Indian Ambassador has identified the monumental task of dealing with security issues, believing that for the initiatives currently in place to succeed, Libya will need to rely on significant foreign investment and technology transfers. India also have aspirations to be a major partner in the Education sector.
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Regional Focus
Libyan, Algerian & Tunisian pMs agree to enhance security along their common borders - 12.01.13 The Prime Ministers of three North African countries, including Libya, met in the Ghadames on Saturday agreeing to improve security measures on their common borders in order to tackle the rising problem of arms, drugs and organised crime which is entering these countries due to the regions political instability. Last month, Libyas GNC closed the borders with Chad, Niger, Sudan and Algeria whilst seven southern regions of Libya have been declared as restricted military areas. The unrest in North Mali has also been identified as a major concern. Libyas PM considers the summit to be a success having agreed and taken decisions confronting the threats faced by Libya, Algeria and Tunisia. Sudans foreign Minister in discussions with Libya on bilateral cooperation as well as other African related concerns - 15.01.2013 Ali Karti, Sudans foreign minister, visited Tripoli this week to update the Libyan government on the relationship between the North & South and the security issues in the region. Meeting with the Head of Congress, Mohamed Magarief the two also discussed the state of Sudan, bilateral cooperation and other African issues.
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WAC have taken a number of steps to avoid fraudulent claims and misappropriation of funds which plagued initiatives
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Can Libya harness the potential of its young population to bring its fragile revolution full circle?
2011] the WAC, which is part of the Prime Ministers office, is responsible for providing duty of care and opportunities to veterans of the Libyan Uprising. The WAC have compiled a database of approximately 220,000 registered revolutionaries (made up of both combatants and those who were actively involved in other revolutionary activities who joined the cause before 20 October 2011) of which 143,500 have so far been accepted and will be enrolled in various WAC programmes which include domestic training programmes, sponsorship for vocational training and degree courses at International
launched by the NTC including the scandalous misuse of funds allocated for foreign medical treatment for revolutionaries and the wide spread abuse of grants offered to revolutionaries. Measures include the development a detailed database of revolutionaries whose eligibility has been assessed through a multi-stage process of interviews, psychological assessments and background checks. Project implementation will be closely scrutinized by the WAC team including appointed consultants and observers, and funds will be allocated directly to projects rather than being given to veterans in the form of cash grants. The Ministries of Defence and Interior are also expected to absorb tens of thousands of revolutionaries into the official state security forces as well as providing additional training for existing staff. Interior Ministry spokesperson, Majdi Alarafi told LANA new agency that they had increased capacity for police training due the growing number of Supreme Security Council SSC members looking to join the police. While the Ministry of Higher Education waits for newly
institutions and its landmark LYD 500 million small-to-medium size enterprise (SME) programme Project Ambition which will assist 5,000 former fighters to establish their own businesses. Successful candidates will be eligible for a maximum of LYD 100,000 provided in the form of project assistance (rather than cash) working with the WAC to develop a business plan and establish required facilities such as factories, shops, warehousing etc. 57,000 have submitted their names for consideration by Project Ambition. As well as the viability of candidates proposals priority will be given to those who spent longer on the front lines or who sustained injuries in the selection criteria.
nominated Minister Ali Muftah Obaid to take office pending Congressional approval after former nominee Abdulasalm Bashir Duabi was disbarred by the GNCs Transparency and Integrity commission in November; plans are being drafted for a major overhaul of Libyas Higher Education system and institutions. Libya currently has approximately 530,000 students serviced by 12 Universities and network of Technical Training Colleges. Priorities include increasing capacity for teaching of foreign languages including English, French, Italian and German, introducing new vocational qualifications as a viable alternative to degree courses, and upgrading and equipping facilities to modern specifications. While the task of improving the business environment and
An innovative aspect of the project is that it will also draw on the experience of the revolutionaries themselves with a group of 300 to be selected and trained as business consultants to provide assistance with projects operating from a nationwide network of dedicated business centres.
reforming Libyas education system is a massive challenge for Libyas first elected (albeit interim) government it is clear that engaging disenfranchised elements of Libyas youth is crucial for the country to progress from its current state.
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ie. consultancy+ Government threatens crack-down on illegal demonstrations as protestors experimenting with new freedoms continue to cause serious disruption to Libyas recovering Oil & Gas Industry
15.01.2013 Responding to a recent spate of protests which have caused a complete shutdown of operations at Zeuitina Oil terminal since December as protestors blocked access to oil installations causing losses of $1m per day; Prime Minister Ali Zidan pledged to impose order using all necessary force. In a statement on Wednesday 9th January Zidan said We [Libya] cannot be patient when violence results in the disruption of oil supplies and the loss of life. Thoughout 2012 oil installations increasingly became a focal point of protests as a number decisive issues came into play including benefits for injured revolutionaries, geo-political tensions centring on calls for greater autonomy for Eastern Libya and the relocation of the National Oil Company (NOC) to Benghazi and calls for fair pay, improved working conditions in the industry and fair distribution of resource wealth. Speaking to Reuters on Wednesday 9th January Oil Minister Abdulbari Al Arusi confirmed that an agreement has been reached with the defence minister, chief of staff and interior minister to secure the oil ports and that the army had mobilised a force to protect Zueitina terminal. No oil has been shipped out of Zueitina which is some 800km East of the Libyan Capital Tripoli, exporting around 60,000 70,000 barrels per day, since the start of January as a result of the local protests that began in December. In addition to
PELAGIAN BASIN
TRIPOLI BENGHAZI Zeuitina Oil Terminal
lost export revenues, such a shut-down also causes serious maintenance issues due to damage to pipes. Local officials and industry executives had been working for days to achieve a resolution to the issue. The chairman of Zueitina Oil Company, said that protestors were persuaded to leave by local officials and it is expected that the terminal will reopen in the coming days after the oil ministry gave the go-ahead for activities to resume. Under the current economic and political climate it is possible that Libya will face further disruption to its Oil Industry which accounts for the majority of its revenues.
GHADAMES BASIN
El-Hamra
SIRTE BASIN
El-Sharara
MURZUK BASIN
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Security
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Libyas Centralie. consultancy+ Bank discusses the idea of Credit Unions in Libya with World Council
- 03.01.13 Libya is in need of reconstruction and the economy is earmarked to grow rapidly. With most small and family run businesses being self-financed, and the concept of consumer finance being widely unknown, it is important that Libya can offer financial assistance potentially offering bank guarantees and financing for business. The world councils President & CEO, Brian Branch, said financial cooperation is still not well understood, but many are looking for an Islamic finance model. The credit union model fits.
Business in Brief
Turkey plan to increase oil imports from Libya due to problems with Iran - 05.01.13
U.S. sanctions on Iran has resulted in Turkey needing to look elsewhere for its oil imports. Turkish Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz, has said that Turkey could potentially increase its crude oil imports from Libya to over 1 million tons a year. Turkey plans to hold talks with Qatar in regards to building a third terminal for liquefied natural gas with a capacity of 5-6 billion cubic meters to meet the needs of Turkey and the region.
President of the Union Alstom SA to supply of Italian fishermen met 11 gas turbines to with Libyan Officials to Libyas GECOL cooperation
- 14.01.2013 - 16.01.2013 During a meeting with Libyan Deputy Prime Minister for Technical Affairs Abdulsalam ElGadi, on Tuesday to discuss cooperation between Libya and Italy and the potential for establishing a partnership in the field of fisheries between the two countries particularly in providing access to the EU market for Libyan fishery production. Libyan waters are rich in many varieties of fish including tuna, especially in the Gulf of Sirte. Rehabilitation of Libyan fisherys and training for local fishermen to optimise efficiency was also discussed.
Alstom SA, a French power equipment manufacturer, has stated that it has signed a contract with the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL). The 11 turbines will be provided across five power plants in Libya with inspections being planned for 2013 (6 turbines) and 2014 (remaining 5 turbines). GECOL aims to have its gas power plants operational and connected to electric grid in time for summer 2013.
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ie. consultancy+ ie. Alarusi Oil Minister Abdulbariconsultancy+ calls for a fresh approach to managing Libyan resources at a meeting at National Oil Corporation (NOC) Headquarters 16.01.2013
While reviewing previous projects and proposed plans during the meeting held at the NOC offices in Tripoli this week, the minister called on the NOC to avoid the complexities of the former regime in dealing with national companies proposing the formation of a new committee to review and follow up on legacy issues within existing contracts, stressing that the industry should be run for the benefit of Libya and the Libyan people. Praising the efforts of Libyas technicians in restoring oil output, the Minister also called on Libyan oil & gas experts working internationally to return to Libya. He highlighted that increasing production to meet the budgetary demands of country during this challenging transitional period is the primary focus for the Industry.
Water
Minister of Water resources, Elhadi Hinsheer to discuss measures to avert a potential water supply crisis following Industrial Action by factory workers in Brega 16.01.2013 Following protests by striking workers from a pipe factory in the Eastern town of Brega, which supplies pipes to the Great ManMade River (the principle source of water for most Libyans) the Chairman of the Great Man-Made River (GMMR) Nasser Bubteina told the Minister at the newly created Ministry of Water Resources, Elhadi Hinsheer that the demands for improved pay and conditions from the employees at the factory must be addressed to avoid further industrial action and potential loss of water supply. The Minister agreed to meet with representatives of the Great ManMade River Authority to discuss the underlying issues.
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Feature
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whom the public looks for information and assurances to give communications the energy, skill and resources that are needed to do the job properly and well. Justin Marozzi has been travelling to Libya for more than 20 years and is a Senior Adviser with Albany Associates, which provided pro bono communications assistance during the Libyan revolution. Albany led a successful campaign on behalf of the Ministry of Oil and Finance to encourage the British government to release almost 2bn Libyan dinars impounded in the UK. To discuss how Albany, which has partnered in Libya with IE, could help your organisation contact justin@albanyassociates.com; www.albanyassociates.com
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Beny al Ahmer Street, Hay al Andalus, Tripoli, Libya T: +218 (0) 21 711 04 30 E: info@ie-consultancy.com Skype: ieconsultancylibya
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