Misurata focuses on the Italia-Africa axis: businesses, ports and investment take centre stage at the forum

However, the implementation of this system requires coordinated action: road infrastructure, integration between land and sea transport, the development of border crossings and greater efficiency in logistics services. The minister also highlighted the need for partnerships with the private sector and with specialist international firms, pointing to Italy’s experience as a possible contribution to the sector’s development.

For the chairman of the Misurata Free Zone, Mohsen al-Suqutri, the city’s location and the presence of maritime transport operators form the basis for strengthening the port’s role in links between Europe and Africa. He emphasised that the forum stems precisely from the desire to attract Italian businesses to the region, foster contact with local partners and turn interest in the Libyan market into economic partnerships.

Among the mission’s agenda items is a cooperation agreement between the Free Zone and the Port System Authority of the Western Sicilian Sea, led by Annalisa Tardino. The proposed agreement aims to strengthen relations with Sicilian ports, including Palermo, Termini Imerese and Trapani, and to develop new commercial and logistical links between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

In a message posted on the forum, the Italian Ambassador to Tripoli, Gianluca Alberini, welcomed this prospect, noting that Misrata has the potential to become a ‘trans-continental logistics hub’ linking Italia, Europe and Africa, within the framework of the Mattei Plan.

Alberini also reaffirmed the commitment of the Italian diplomatic network to facilitate the issuance of visas to Libyan businesspeople and to encourage the extension of direct flight connections to Misrata as well. These are two key operational conditions for supporting investment and ensuring more sustained relations between businesses.

The Italian delegation comprises companies operating in the construction, energy, agri-food, transport, engineering and healthcare sectors. Participants include Fincantieri, Conpat, Renco, the Grimaldi shipping group and CY4GATE. Confindustria Assafrica e Mediterraneo is also taking part in the mission, accompanied by three member companies, following the memorandum signed in July with the Free Zone.

The scope of the opportunities presented at the forum covers eight sectors: metalworking and light engineering, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, food, the maritime industry, logistics and warehousing, industrial processing, waste and oil recycling and recovery, and trade and distribution.

Alongside infrastructure, the issue of skills took centre stage. Enrico della Gatta, Vice President of Fincantieri’s Defence Market, highlighted the need for highly specialised personnel to support the transformation of production activities. Artificial intelligence and robotisation, he noted, will also change the nature of work on shipyards: a development that requires investment in training staff, as well as in plant and equipment.

“We can grow together,” said the president of the Italian-Libyan Chamber of Commerce, Nicola Colicchi, linking the prospects for Libyan business with opportunities for Italian business. The key, in his view, is to build a stable network of relationships capable of ensuring continuity for the contacts established during the forum.

A step in this direction is the planned opening of a permanent office of the Italian-Libyan Chamber of Commerce in Misrata, designed to support Italian companies and facilitate their relations with local partners. Senator Scurria , chair of the Italia-Libya parliamentary friendship group, also emphasised in his video message the need to complement political dialogue with concrete economic relations and investment in each other’s territories.

The prospects for development are set against an economic backdrop in which conditions governing access to goods and international payments remain central. On the eve of the forum, the Free Zone hosted a meeting chaired by the head of the Government of National Unity, Abdulhamid Dbeibah, focusing on domestic market prices and the regulation of imports.

The discussions centred on letters of credit, the dollar exchange rate, the exchange rate applied for customs purposes, and import procedures. Dbeibah emphasised the need to coordinate between institutions and the private sector to ensure the continuity of trade flows and safeguard purchasing power.

It is on this two-fold level that the forum’s impact will be measured: on the one hand, the infrastructure and industrial projects designed to strengthen the regional role of Misurata; on the other, the operational conditions necessary to turn business contacts into contracts, investments and ongoing trade.

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