The International Fair of Tripoli, the trade fair which already for 36 years has been a meeting point for local and foreign small and medium enterprises (SMEs), opens in Libya. More than 35 countries have gathered for this year’s event which continues ten days, on a surface of 40,000 square metres. “The preparations for this event started more than two months ago, many commissions have been created to deal with the requests of the participant companies and to make this event an unprecedented success,” said Libia Ahmed, director of the International Fair of Tripoli, the first woman to occupy the position.
This edition will not be limited only to the oil sector but will also include traditional clothing, tourism and local food industry,” she said. “We want this edition to be an advertisement for our country and the public to have an access to the event. We are planning to exceed the number of 20,000 visitors registered during the previous edition,” she added. The most important participant countries include the USA, Britain, France, Japan, Germany and Australia.
African Union companies are represented with three pavilions, stimulated by the facilitations offered by Libya, including customs tax exemption. The Italian representation is weak, with only one pavilion and 50 companies taking part in the initiative despite the advertisement campaign and the support on the spot offered by the Italian Foreign Trade Institute ICE in Tripoli, which has prepared the Italian pavilion and is present with an information desk.
