U.S. shippers visit Libya

   Members of the U.S.-Libya Business Association (USLBA) on Saturday arrived in Libya to begin a five-day trade and investment delegation visit.
   The delegation includes 37 representatives of 20 U.S. companies and organizations. The group represents a wide range of U.S. industry sectors, including healthcare, education administration, training, energy, construction, logistics, infrastructure, construction support, vehicles and equipment, transportation, public safety, agriculture, public relations and telecommunications.
   They are also joined by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Jose Fernandez and U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz.
   While in Libya, the delegation will travel to Tripoli and Benghazi to meet with senior Libyan national and local government officials, including Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib. The delegation will participate in events with private business groups from Tripoli, Misurata and Benghazi to discuss national priorities for rebuilding the country. They will also participate in two major trade shows for the oil and gas and infrastructure industries, which are taking place in Tripoli.
   “While much of the press coverage about Libya is focused on the historic political transition to representative government now underway, it ignores the underlying fact that Libya is already in the process of building a new economy focused on the nation’s private sector,” said USLBA Executive Director Chuck Dittrich, in a statement.
   “The challenge will be to create government institutions that allow an independent business community to keep growing to create the jobs necessary to move from an economy that is still reliant on public subsidies,” he said. “While this reality must be confronted, there is an energy and a true sense of optimism that day by day, things are moving forward.”