São Paulo – The deputy prime minister of Libya, Abdulsalam Al Mahdi Al Qadi, should visit Brazil this week, visiting Brasília, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. According to congressman Adrian Mussi, chairman of the Brazil-Libya Parliamentary Group, the visit is part of the process for closer ties between both countries after the fall of Muamar Kadafi, who passed away in 2011 amidst the revolution that ended his regime of over 40 years.
“We are working on returning to trade relations between both countries,” said the congressman, who visited Tripoli in December and invited Qadi to visit Brazil. According to him, Brazilian companies that worked in the Arab country prior to the conflict still have their contracts suspended.
“We are working on returning the contracts of these companies and on opening space for others,” said the member of parliament. Among the Brazilian companies that operated in Libya are construction companies Odebrecht, Queiroz Galvão and Andrade Gutierrez, as well as Petrobras.
On Wednesday (17), Qadi should meet vice president Michel Temer, Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota and Lower House president Henrique Alves. According to Mussi, also scheduled are meetings with the minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Fernando Pimentel, and with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture.
On Thursday, the deputy prime minister will be in São Paulo to visit the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp). In Mussi’s evaluation, Libya is a “highly promising” country in the economic point of view, with great oil reserves, but a small population. “Libya may be a great Brazilian trade partner,” he said. Qadi should also travel to Rio, where he should have a meeting at the Federation of Industries of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan).
He added that the Libyans are also interested in promoting exchange with Brazil in other areas. “They see Brazil as a great example of a country that lived a dictatorship and worked out as a democracy,” added the congressman, referring to the military regime lived by the country from 1964 to 1985. In this respect, there is demand for cooperation in the parliamentary, sports, agricultural and tourism areas.
According to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, exports from Brazil to Libya reached US$ 456 million in 2010. In the following year, they dropped to US$ 102 million, due to the revolution, but in 2012 they climbed to US$ 423 million. In the first quarter of 2013, shipments have generated US$ 137.7 million, growth of 56% over the same period last year.
Imports, in turn, which totalled US$ 1.4 billion in 2008 dropped to almost nil in 2011, and were non-existent last year. In the first three months of 2013, they totalled US$ 78 million.
*Translated by Mark Ament
