The first ever Turkish–Libyan Economic Forum has been launched in Istanbul on Thursday.

Turkish and Libyan businesspeople, gathering in Libya-Turkey Business Platform in Istanbul, shared strong economic and trade cooperation messages.

As part of the business event, organized by Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) on Oct. 15-16, Turkish and Libyan businesspeople are getting together.

Turkey and Libya’s officials, private sectors, and NGOs joined the event, which is expected to contribute to bilateral business relations.

During the opening ceremony of the event, speakers from the two countries stressed that Turkey and Libya have the potential to realize more trade activities.

In the event, an agreement, to increase bilateral trade relations, was signed between DEIK and Libya’s General Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Mohammad Abdul Karim Raied, the head of Libya’s General Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said Turkey and Libya are going through very important times in their region.

The two countries have a large trade volume and it will expand day by day, he recalled.

In 2010, Turkey-Libya bilateral trade volume, including construction and infrastructure projects, reached $10 billion, Raied noted.

This cooperation is so important, also for Libya’s future and sustainability, and it can only become stronger through investors, he underlined.