The UK's Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) is reviewing its policy on Libya with a view to possibly easing insurance cover rules governing UK exporters, said the Middle East Economic Digest Thursday.
Sources at ECGD say a technical paper on restoring medium-term cover is being prepared and the department will be ready to make an announcement by the end of May, the economical source said.
Despite the absence of export cover, trade with the UK has continued to Libya as many British companies prepared to carry the risks involved in entering the market.
According to the news service, the UK exports to Libya grew by more than 10 percent last year to #187 million ($270 million), from #177 million ($257 million) in 1999.
Trade links are particularly close in the oil and petrochemicals sectors, and UK consultants have been prominent in a number of high profile projects such as the great man-made river.
Prior to the rupture of diplomatic relations in the 1980s, Libya was the UK's second biggest trading partner in the region. It is now ranked outside the top 10 in terms of UK trade with the Middle East and North Africa.
"ECGD will have to respond to the level of business interest now out there," says one senior UK exporter, the economical source added – Albawaba.com
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