Moroccan-Libyan high commission meeting, bilateral trade far short of potential
Libya-Morocco, Economics, 11/15/1999

The Moroccan-Libyan high joint commission held its 4th session in the Libyan city of Benghazi Sunday and Monday under the co-chairmanship of Moroccan prime ministers, Abderrahmane Youssoufi and Secretary of the Libyan general popular committee, Mohamed Ahmed Mankouch.

The session was crowned by the signing of several accords and programs meant to reach complementarity between the two Maghreban states.

During the commission debates, Youssoufi-- who was received Sunday evening by Libyan leader Muammar Kaddafi-- and Mankouch underlined the need to set a timetable for implementing the accords and to follow up this implementation to give a new impetus to economic, cultural and social relations between the two countries.

They voiced determination to establish a mutually beneficial partnership and called for joining efforts to face the economic challenges and look for opportunities that would complement the economies in the two states, pending favorable conditions to reactivate the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA). The two north African countries are members of the UMA which also included Algeria, Mauritania and Tunisia.

The need to reactivate the UMA and to set up a Maghreban market was also stressed by the commission as a must in the prospect of the Euro-Mediterranean free trade area, the Maghreban union being a strategic and irreversible choice.

They called for lowering the obstacles hampering the flow of trade exchanges and investments between the two states and for easing the tasks of economic operators wishing to do business in either country.

They also called for the resumption of flights between Morocco and Libya. These flights had been suspended following the air embargo decreed against Libya in 1992 in view of the Lockerbie affair.

The Libyan official voiced in this regard appreciation for Morocco's total support to Libya when it was subject to the unfair embargo and Youssoufi renewed Morocco's backing to Tripoli for a definitive lifting the unfair sanctions against Libya.

Mankouch said the best way to avoid that such blockades be imposed in the future on an Arab states lies in the creation of a common Arab space and an Arab open sky.

The Libyan carrier is ready to resume Morocco bound flights and the Moroccan Royal Air Maroc (RAM) will resume its flights to Libya once this principle materialized, Mankouch said.

The call to resume air connections between the two states was reiterated by Youssoufi during a meeting on the sidelines of the commission session between Moroccan and Libyan businessmen.

Youssoufi deemed it "impossible" to promote economic relations without an air connection between Morocco and Libya. The upgrading of trade exchanges depends on the settlement of the air connection problem, which has become, Youssoufi said, a major obstacle to increase the volume of these exchanges which have dropped since 1996.

Up to June 1999, Morocco's exports to Libya -- finished and semi-finished consumption goods-- were worth $ 71.83 million while imports --fertilizers, chemical products, iron and steel-- amounted to $ 11.46 million.

In 1990, the two states had signed a trade and tariff agreement to exempt from customs duties all exchanged items. Moroccan minister of trade, industry and handicraft, Alami Tazi, who was member of Youssoufi's party, pleaded at a meeting with his Libyan peer, Meftah Ali Azzouza, for the promotion of trade exchanges saying these exchanges can reach at the mid term $ 400 million.

Ali Azzouza on his part called for the setting up of joint ventures in some promising sectors such as those of fertilizers, car manufacturing, leather industry and others.

The Moroccan and Libyan businessmen who called for easing administrative procedures and for resuming air flights between the two countries announced plans to set up a Moroccan-Libyan chamber of industry, commerce and services to bring enterprises closer.

The Moroccan-Libyan high joint commission meets alternately in Morocco and Libya. The 3rd session, held in July 1998 in Rabat, was crowned by the signing of several accords in the fields of transport, tourism, administration, social affairs. The 3rd session had also been marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the creation of a free trade area.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan, Libyan Airliners to Service Flights between the two states   (10/14/1999)
  Moroccan-Libyan committee calls for development of trade exchange   (7/13/1999)
  Morocco's airliner to resume flights to Libya soon   (4/17/1999)

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