“…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…” Little did Charles Dickins knew that his famous lines from, A tale of two cities, would fit perfectly in the present condition of socio-economic and geo-political crisis of Libya. People of Libya have seen it all, from good time to bad, and from bad to ugly. They have been so much thrusted down, that the only way for them is up. And they have an immense potential in going back to the top.
They have oil. Libyan oil reserves are the largest in Africa and 10th largest in the world. So, it is obvious that sooner or later they would be selling their oil in much more quantity as compared to now. Recently, there has been a growing interest among the big oil companies of the world to boost the oil extraction from Libyan oilfields which will benefit the Libyan economy a lot. Other than that, private businesses and investments in Libya have also started to grow after the Civil war of 2011. And there are several reasons for that. Primarily, Libya offers very low energy costs for the investors and its strategic location is also of prime importance as it links Africa with the world. Libya also offers many savings and advantages for its investors, for example, there is exemption from custom duties and tax on reinvested earnings for investors. Also, there is free return of earned profits and free transfer of capital between countries. So, these policies encourage new investor to invest in Libya. So, it is very likely that in near future, Libya will become a popular country for international investment and a business center of Africa.
Along with investments, there will be a huge inflow of tourists and that’s the most interesting thing about Libya, as people do not associate tourism with Libya. But Libya has huge potential for it. In Libya, there are remains of traditional Islamic architecture as well as Greek and Roman architecture and infrastructure. There are many popular travel sites which are still intact and with a little uplifting and maintenance, they will become a beautiful and worth visiting places in modern Libya. Libya has a huge potential for enhancing their oil business, trade and investments and tourism as well, but all of this is impossible without peace, security and developed infrastructure.
Unfortunately, after the 2011 riots and the fall of Qaddafi, the security situation of Libya is not so good for either oil trade or investments or even tourism. Just take this for an example that, as of 2017, more than 30 countries have advised its people not to travel to Libya. So, things are not so good. The infrastructure is almost destroyed and the government have no control over the entire country and there is a civil war going on. So, what does the future holds for Libyan people and its economy? That’s a big question to answer. But as stated earlier that, the only way for Libya is up, now. And there is still a hope in Libyan people and their faces are full of optimism, and they have a firm belief that things will get better and their future generations will see a Libya, which is beautiful, as it used to be in the past.
