CAIRO — Libya plans to reinvent itself as the aerospace center of North Africa.
The regime of Libyan ruler Col. Moammar Khaddafy, wooed by Western and Russian contractors, has organized an
aviation conference as part of a project to modernize the nation's civilian
and military fleet. The Arab-African Aviation Conference was scheduled to be
held in Tripoli from Dec. 3-6.
"This will make Libya a leading country in the region to feature the
latest technologies, products and updates and the newest services available
in the Libyan aviation industry," Gen. Jibril Al Kadiki, deputy air
force chief of staff, said.
The conference and exhibition have attracted Western and Russian defense
majors, Middle East Newsline reported. Organizers cited Eurocopter, Dassault Aviation, Thales and MBDA.
"We're going to invite all companies and corporations linked with us to
participate in this event to show their latest equipment and aircraft," Al
Kadiki, responsible for Libyan air defense, said.
The European Union has deemed Libya a leading emerging defense market.
Britain's Defence Ministry has targeted Libya as a major aerospace and
defense market in 2007.
France also plans to target Libya for defense sales in 2007. Industry
sources said the French government has approved defense and military exports
and services to Tripoli.
Italy has also sought to become a major defense and security contractor
in Libya. Italy has supplied fast patrol boats and training to help Libya
secure its territorial waters in the Mediterranean.
Mohamed Adala, chairman of the exhibition's organizing committee, said
Libya and other North African states plan to upgrade their air fleets. Adala
said these countries envision allocations of up to $124 billion over the
next 16 years.
"This project and the accompanying exhibition and air show, with the
participation of a large number of international companies, will be a
gathering to get to know the leading companies and provide the opportunity
to learn about the latest technologies, services and products concerned with
the different aviation sectors," Adala said.
