Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile is due to arrive in Tripoli Thursday at the head of a major business delegation, the highest-profile Australian visit to Libya in three decades.
As he was leaving Dubai for Tripoli, Vaile told the Australian Associated Press he was particularly hoping the trip would open up trade and investment opportunities in Libya's petroleum sector, AFP said.
"Libya is quite rich with those resources and as that opens up and we maintain a presence there we will be able to see our trading opportunities and investment opportunities open up," he said.
Vaile was accompanied by executives from firms including energy companies Woodside Petroleum and Santos and commodity traders Meat and Livestock Australia and AWB Ltd.
The trip was arranged after Australia and other governments normalized diplomatic ties with Libya earlier this year following the suspension of United Nations sanctions imposed on Tripoli after it was accused of involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing.
The United Nations suspended the sanctions in 1999 after Libya handed over two security agents suspected in the attack. One of them, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, was sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2001 by a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands.
Australian exports to Libya are officially worth 40 million dollars (22 million US) per year, but up to another 100 million dollars (55 million US) is believed to enter through third countries such as Egypt and Italy.
Libyan mining infrastructure is run down, and with the Libyan National Oil agency keen for joint ventures, many Australian firms see an opportunity to get a foothold. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
