Straits Times: SM hopes S'pore can aid Libya's development
By Chua Lee Hoong
TRIPOLI (LIBYA) - SENIOR Minister Goh Chok Tong hopes Singapore companies will be able to contribute to the development of Libya.
Arriving in its capital Tripoli yesterday, he told reporters he believes that in the coming years, Libya will be making investments in housing, airports, seaports and tourism infrastructure.
'I hope there are areas Singapore can consider investing in,' he said.
Mr Goh is on his first official visit to the North African country. Singapore established diplomatic ties with Libya in early 2006, two years after it renounced terrorism.
With a population of four million citizens and over two million foreigners from neighbouring countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and beyond, its population profile is fairly similar to Singapore's.
Its land mass is, however, 2,500 times bigger.
The country is also rich in oil, with reserves estimated to be the ninth largest in the world and most of it untapped.
The economy, dominated by the hydrocarbons industry, is one of the most prosperous in the Middle East region.
In recent years, it has tried to diversify out of oil, which accounts for a quarter of its GDP.
A key focus of attention is tourism, as Libya is home to magnificent ruins, some dating back 3,000 years.
Remnants of the Phoenician, Greek and Roman empires and, more recently, the Turkish Ottoman empire, can be found in various parts of Libya, including just outside Tripoli.
Mr Goh said the immediate purpose of his visit was to get to understand the country, its people and its culture better.
'Singapore at the moment does not understand Libya very much, and I believe that is also true the other way round,' he said. 'With this visit, Singapore hopes to signal our desire to have strong relations with Libya.'
With better understanding, the Senior Minister said he hoped Singapore's private sector would be able to contribute to Libya's development.
A delegation of 20 companies, led by the Singapore Business Federation, is accompanying Mr Goh on the four-day trip.
Mr Lim Ban Hoe, regional director of International Enterprise Singapore, said Singapore's interest in Libya is for the medium to long term.
And unlike in Dubai, where Singapore companies were relative latecomers, he said Singapore companies would be moving into Libya early if they did so soon.
Mr Lim, who is based in Dubai, is in charge of the Middle East and Africa for the government's trade promotion agency.
Currently, US companies dominate the country's telecommunications sector and Korean companies, its infrastructure development.
Mr Goh was hosted to dinner last night by Libya's Deputy Prime Minister Ambark Abdullah Al Shamikh.
Today, he is expected to meet the chairman of the National Oil Corporation, Dr Shukri Ghanem, as well as Dr Abdel Hafidh Zlitni, the secretary of the General People's Committee for Planning.
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PERFECT STRANGERS
'Singapore at the moment does not understand Libya very much, and I believe that is also true the other way round. With this visit, Singapore hopes to signal our desire to have strong relations with Libya.'
SM GOH CHOK TONG
now that gaddafi is dead stiff, what then libya with singapore? how much did sg dump in? are the investment already another KAPUT!!??
