Summary:

On 26 November 2024, Libya hosted the first edition of the France-Libya Business Forum in Benghazi, receiving representatives of fifty major French companies. The Forum also included a French diplomatic delegation led by the French ambassador and the Regional Director of Business France, Michael Bauza. 

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The Forum concluded with the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between the Director General of the Development and Reconstruction Fund of Libya, Belgacem Haftar, Business France and Infranum Foundation for Modern Technology. 

The Reconstruction Fund also signed a contract with the French Matière Company to build two bridges in Benghazi: the Al-Jalaa Bridge and the Tripoli Road Bridge. 

Additionally, the Libyan Fund agreed on maintenance contracts with the French firm SEDE VIOLIA for maintaining steam stations to desalinate drinking water in Derna, Tobruk, Sousse, and Abu-Traba. 

Following the signing ceremony, Belgacem Haftar noted that “2025 will bring many development and reconstruction projects in most Libyan cities and regions within the framework of the Fund’s national strategy,” calling on French companies to contribute to these strategic projects. 

Outlook: 

The organization of the France-Business Forum and the agreements signed during its ceremony underscore France’s growing economic interest in Libya’s reconstruction which is a point of competition between many countries in the region, including Egypt, the UAE, Turkey, and Italy.   

France’s support for the Haftar family and its government in Eastern Libya has been established, despite France’s recognition of the Tripoli-based government. France chose to organize its Business Forum in Libya in the city of Benghazi as opposed to Tripoli which reflects its interest in continuing to deal with Haftar and a calculation by the French government that the Haftar government will remain influential in the future of Libya.  

This initiative by France is another development in the strategic competition between France and Italy in Libya after the latter’s organization of the Tripoli-Italy Business Forum in Tripoli less than a month ago. 

The recent agreements are likely to help the East-based government to attract foreign investments and consolidate its efforts to solidify confidence in its ability to secure the business climate in the East, while the Tripoli-based government has struggled to demonstrate a similar level of control of the various political and security actors in the West. 

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