The head of government, Sarra Zaâfrani Zenzri, received this Wednesday at the Kasbah Palace the Libyan Minister of Economy and Trade, Mohamed Al-Houij, as part of a working visit dedicated to following up the recommendations of the Tunisian-Libyan joint trade commission held in Tripoli in December 2024.
During the meeting, Sarra Zaâfrani Zenzri reaffirmed Tunisia’s desire to strengthen its economic ties with Libya, while saluting the historical and fraternal relations between the two peoples. She insisted on the need to implement the recommendations from previous meetings, in order to overcome obstacles and consolidate economic integration between the two countries.
The head of government underlined the importance of a new economic dynamic, based on a joint roadmap aimed at diversifying trade and developing strategic partnerships towards the African market, particularly through the opportunities offered by COMESA and the AfCFTA.
Tunisian position on the situation in Libya
On the political level, Sarra Zaâfrani Zenzri recalled Tunisia’s principled position: the settlement of the Libyan crisis must be exclusively Libyan-Libyan, without foreign interference. She stressed that the security of the two countries is inseparable and that common challenges require concerted action to preserve regional stability.
For his part, Mohamed Al-Houij expressed Libya’s desire to raise bilateral cooperation to a higher level, by focusing on economic complementarity and the facilitation of border trade. He emphasized the importance of harmonizing standards, digitizing administrative procedures and stimulating the private sector, in order to streamline trade and improve joint access to the African market.
Roadmap and monitoring mechanism
The Tunisian Minister of Commerce, Samir Abid, presented the results of the technical meeting held the day before, which made it possible to reach an agreement on the unification of standards and the creation of a permanent mechanism for monitoring trade exchanges.
The two parties committed to continuing regular joint work to achieve the objectives set and give new impetus to Tunisian-Libyan cooperation.
