Maritime transport strategically important for Türkiye-Libya ties: Company head

By Fatma Eda Topcu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Maritime transport, which is of strategic importance for global trade, is just as critical for ties between Türkiye and Libya, according the head of a Turkish international trade firm.

“Thanks to its geostrategic position, Libya is like a two-way gateway between Africa and the rest of the world,” Murtaza Karanfil, chairman of the Istanbul-based Karanfil Group, was quoted as saying by the company.

Following the resumption of the maritime route between Misrata in northwestern Libya and the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul after 25 years, Karanfil underlined the importance of this for ties between the Türkiye and North Africa.

Karanfil Group, along with a Turkish tourism firm and the Libyan Iron and Steel Company, are operating a RoPax vessel that can ferry up to 900 overnight passengers, 1,700 tons of cargo, and 400 cars between Türkiye and Libya, which he said share 500 years historical and cultural bonds.

Karanfil pointed out that the trips between Istanbul and Misrata, held four times per month, represented an important touristic commercial link between Türkiye and Libya.

- Connecting 26,000 Turkish companies with 120,000 Libyan customers

Karanfil also stressed that these two-to-three-day voyages would allow Libya, as a gateway between Africa and the rest of the world, to draw more attention from Turkish businesses.

“We’re bringing together 26,000 companies in our country with our 120,000 Libyan customers,” he said, adding that their enterprise was successfully delivering small, medium, and large machinery and equipment nonstop between the two destinations.

Karanfil also noted that they were carrying 700 passengers to Türkiye. “We aim to host passengers from North African countries and the entire continent, with Libya at the center,” he said.

On their plans for the future, he added that they sought to expand into new routes, specifically with the Libyan city of Benghazi, further east.

Libya needs investments in a wide variety of fields including petrochemicals, tourism, health care, mining, and construction, he said.

“Turkish business people can transform Libya's needs into investments and contribute to the development of the country by turning to these fields.

*Writing by Sevilay Beki in Istanbul