LIBYA OPENS ALL DOORS TO TURKISH COMPANIES, CAGLAYAN

ANKARA (A.A) - 06.01.2010 - Turkish State Minister Zafer Caglayan said on Wednesday that Libya would give lion's share to Turkish companies in projects in the coming years.
Caglayan released a written statement to give information to journalists about his visit to Libya where he attended Turkey-Libya contractors' business forum.
Caglayan said Libyan Prime Minister al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi told him that Libya would make investments worth 100 billion USD in the next three years, "Libyan prime minister told me that they wanted to give lion's share to Turkish companies, which have established joint ventures with Libyan companies, in projects that would be carried out in Libya," he said.
"A new era has started in Turkish-Libyan relations. We paid a one-day visit to this country upon an invitation by al-Mahmudi. The Libyan prime minister addressed Turkish contractors there. Libya opens its doors to Turkish businessmen. This country has decided to give 15 billion USD of projects to Turkish companies in construction sector," Caglayan said.
Turkish Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (DTM) released a statement and said al-Mahmudi expressed readiness to make cooperation with Turkey, and noted that Turkey would be the backbone of this partnership.
Referring to his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, al-Mahmudi said, "we have agreed on many issues to boost bilateral relations. 15 billion USD is ready to be used in construction sector. The projects are also ready. We want Turkish contractors to undertake these projects."
Al-Mahmudi said the projects would be related to contracting services, tourism investments, industry and agriculture.
Libyan prime minister said cooperation could also be carried out on fishing, animal breeding and several other areas.
Al-Mahmudi said wide opportunities would be given to joint ventures that would be established on agriculture and industry areas.
Libyan prime minister also asked Turkish companies to carry out joint projects with Libyan companies in Africa and other regions.