A large delegation of French entrepreneurs has arrived in Benghazi, in eastern Libya. On November 26 and 27, the port city, de facto capital of the dissident executive which governs the eastern and northern regions of the country, under the supervision of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, hosts the Libya-France forum for development and reconstruction.
Organized by the Development and Reconstruction Fund for Libya with the assistance of French diplomacy and Business France, a public agency responsible for the economic promotion of France internationally, the event “aims to strengthen the links of economic and technical collaboration and partnership between Libyan and French companies and institutions”according to information communicated by the organizers.
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In total, twenty-eight French companies – including Airbus Helicopters, Matière, specializing in construction, or Medis, in health software – are represented alongside their Libyan counterparts, from the sectors “education, telecommunications, infrastructure, health, investment, transport and agriculture”. Libya, which became Africa's leading oil producer in March and which holds the continent's largest proven reserves, “remains, despite its particularities, a land of opportunities and its market contains considerable, often underestimated, potential”adds the French ambassador to Tripoli, Mostafa Mihraje, in a message distributed by the forum organization. “The expertise of French companies is expected”he assures.
Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, by a popular revolt supported by a NATO military intervention led by France, Libya has been devastated by several episodes of civil war. The country's infrastructure has been seriously damaged by the heavy fighting. Thanks to a relative stabilization since the ceasefire agreement, signed in October 2020 between the forces of Marshal Haftar and the government of Tripoli, internationally recognized and defended by a coalition of local militias, the country entered taking small steps in a reconstruction phase.
Numerous public works contracts
In the east of the country, this dynamic has a name and a face: that of Belgacem Haftar. Son of Marshal Haftar and an engineer by training, he was propelled to the head of the Development and Reconstruction Fund at the beginning of 2024. The institution, initially founded after the catastrophic floods which ravaged the city of Derna, in September 2023, to support the disaster-stricken regions before its prerogatives were extended to the entire territory, within the limits of the areas controlled by the Libyan National Army, was endowed with a portfolio of 10 billion Libyan dinars (around 1.9 billion euros) by the Benghazi Parliament. Since then, the Fund has awarded numerous contracts for public works projects, the first projects of which – new bridges, new hospital in Derna, schools, etc. – have already been finalized.
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