Libyan-Italian Development Forum in Benghazi seals 17 deals and calls for deeper banking ties
BENGHAZI, Libya — The first Libyan-Italian Forum for Development and Reconstruction wrapped up this week with a flurry of agreements and renewed pledges to broaden economic cooperation across the Mediterranean, organisers and participants said.
A new season of partnership
Sandro Fratini, founding president of the Italy-based Delta Center, told Italy’s state news agency AGI/Nova that eastern Libya’s Cyrenaica region “is experiencing a broad renaissance and opening a new season of partnership between the two shores of the Mediterranean.”
Fratini, whose organisation is headquartered in Tunis, described the forum as “an opportunity for Italy to discover a different Libya” and praised the Reconstruction Fund led by engineer Belkasem Haftar for “looking decisively toward the future.”
Seventeen memoranda of understanding
According to Nova, the three-day gathering culminated in 17 memoranda of understanding covering energy, infrastructure and innovation. Signatories included Italian industrial heavyweights such as Iveco (trucks and buses), Todini (civil works) and Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, alongside firms specialising in power systems, interior design and agri-industries.
All agreements were signed on the Libyan side by the Development and Reconstruction Fund, while the Italian companies voiced “a shared desire to translate the MoUs into concrete, jointly managed industrial projects” through continued technical meetings and operational coordination.
2,400-kilometre rail blueprint
Forum documents show keen Italian interest in Libya’s long-dormant rail network, including planned lines from Sirte to the Tunisian border, Sirte to Sebha, Benghazi to Tobruk, and Ajdabiya to Chad. Libyan sources estimated the combined cost at US $7-10 billion, citing “substantial opportunities” for Italian contractors able to propose “realistic and sustainable” financing models.
Call to revive direct banking channels
In the closing session, Libyan banking expert Nouman al-Bouri urged Italian lenders to re-establish direct correspondent relationships with Tripoli, arguing that the country’s banking system is now unified and fully functional.
“Current transactions routed through intermediaries cost companies time and money,” al-Bouri said, adding that hurdles such as the exchange-rate levy and the lack of direct transfers “can be overcome once Italian banks return.” He called for a more flexible framework to facilitate guarantees and performance bonds on public contracts.
Delta Center positions itself as bridge for reconstruction
Fratini said the Delta Center is ready to act as a “strategic interlocutor” for the Reconstruction Fund, linking Italian firms to Libyan counterparts. He urged European stakeholders to recognise Cyrenaica’s “latent potential” and to pursue “mature, mutually beneficial partnerships” in the region.
