The Maltese business community is seeing a high degree of uncertainty in the current situation in Libya. In a press conference on Wednesday the Foreign Minister, Dr George Vella confirmed that most of the 264 Maltese citizens working in Libya had been contacted by the Embassy in case they subsequently need to be evacuated. The minister explained that there are only 40 Maltese currently working in Libya that have yet to be contacted however efforts are being made to make contact with them.
The minister was careful not to cause an undue sense of alarm saying that while the situation is not rosy, it is also not as alarming as reports in the press suggest it to be. Dr Vella also clarified that both Malta’s Ambassador to Libya, and its First Secretary, are currently working from Malta, along with other Embassy staff, since they were in Malta when the Tripoli airport was closed after clashes between rival groups for control of the airport. The Malta Independent has reported that Virtu Ferries and the airline Medavia are both prepared to start evacuating people from around Tripoli if required.
When contacted by The Malta Business Weekly for the opinion of its members, Joseph Farrugia, Director General of the Malta Employers’ Association explained the significance of Libya to the local business community: “There are 100s of Maltese businesses that operate in Libya, in a wide range of activities including education, wholesale, property and distribution sectors. Even MCAST was considering opening a campus in Libya. In fact many business look at Libya as having tremendous potential for investment, but all this potential is wasted with the current turmoil. One can only hope that this neighbouring country can achieve political stability which could offer incredible prospects for the Libyan population and also Maltese business.”
Mr Farrugia also expressed uncertainty over the current situation commenting that “Many companies are concerned about the current situation particularly those with employees based in Libya. It is a delicate situation with firms that have staff there having to decide whether to continue with their operations or else plan an exit strategy for their employees. We have reports from some companies whose employees want to stay, whereas others are reporting that their employees want to leave Libya under these circumstances.”
Further commenting on the fluidity of the current situation Mr Farrugia observed that what has happened is that the situation has flared up suddenly and is continuing to escalate at an alarming rate.He added that the MEA was monitoring the situation with its members, and would if necessary, as it did during the last crisis in Libya, request a meeting with the Prime Minister to plan a strategy to address the situation and seek ways to minimise the negative impact on businesses.
Abigail Psaila Mamo, CEO of GRTU (Malta’s representative for small and medium sized businesses) commented that they have been getting mixed message for quite some time now on Libya saying that the situation has tranquillised, but then something happens and it becomes more unstable than one would like. Ms Psaila Mamo observed that even firms that have been operating in Libya for a long number of years have reported that the current situation is not good and they are being extra careful. “Business plans and mobilisation of resources, especially human resources, to Libya have been put on hold because people are reluctant to go and business activity is limited, due to the current situation” GRTU’s CEO observed.
The GRTU advised that businesses act with caution and if they are currently in Libya to get in touch with the Embassy and let them know they are in Libya.Commenting on the business community in Malta Ms Psaila Mamo observed that “most [Maltese businesses in Libya] have already returned to Malta and are focusing on their business in Malta, where relevant, until further developments.” The GRTU’s CEO added thatthe fact that business in Libya is risky is of common knowledge, but the signals we had been getting is that there were business opportunities worth pursuing, however Ms Psaila Mamo commented that it would be beneficial if businesses were guided in view of the recent developments.
Speaking on behalf of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, its Director General, Kevin Borg, explained that the Chamber is monitoring the situation closely, keeping in contact with the authorities and members who deal with Libya. Mr Borg noted the importance of the Libya market for Maltese businesses, and stated that Maltese business in Libya is currently at a standstill. He concluded that Libya’s prospects, which were looking positive, are now looking bleak again: without stability you can’t do business.
To facilitate its response to the developing events in Libya, and following a call for countries to appoint special representatives by the EU, in order to discuss the current situation and plan ways forward the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Vella, nominated Ambassador Joe Mangion as his envoy for coordinating Malta’sresponse with that of the international community.In a statement the Government explained that Malta will be engaging actively with other international actors with the aim of paving the way for inclusive national dialogue and democratic reform. The statement went on to say that Ambassador Mangion has served in Malta’s missions in the Arab world and in particular Libya, for a number of years and is presently engaged as Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.