Indonesia should seize opportunities and enjoy the benefits of a
peaceful Libya as the North African country’s people are positive toward
Indonesians and future development shows promise, an envoy has said.
Newly
installed Libyan Ambassador to Indonesia Sadiq MO Ben Sadik said
Libyans were becoming more interested in coming to Indonesia, young
people in particular, to pursue studies at various universities here.
While
admitting that security was still a big challenge post Qaddafi’s
42-year rule, Bensadegh remained upbeat about the future of his country.
“Despite endless infighting, Libyans are longing for stability. [With
the drafting of the constitution] We are now building [the nation] from
scratch,” he said.
The new Libya, post constitution-drafting body
vote on Feb. 20, was regarded as a promising point for the future of
the nation, indicating a path toward creating political stability and
security. “It then would create bigger opportunity for business to come,
including from Indonesia’s construction sector,” the envoy said.
The
ambassador told The Jakarta Post ahead of Libyan Independence Day and
Revolution Day, celebrated here on Tuesday. Libya marks Feb. 17, the day
when Moammar Qaddafi’s autocratic regime ended in 2011, as its
revolution day.
The oil-rich country, home to 6 million people,
was under an interim government. On Feb. 20, Libya voted for the
constitution body with low-turnout recorded — about 498,000 people cast
ballots out of 1 million registered.
Amid political turmoil at
home, Libyan students have continued coming to Indonesia. There are now
some 500 of them scattered across universities in cities such as
Bandung, Semarang, Surakarta, Yogyakarta and Malang.
The wave of
Libyan students to Indonesia started in 2009, when there were some 3,000
Libyans studying in Malaysia. Many of these students became interested
in the various areas of study offered in Indonesia. “The numbers have
been increasing, especially after 2011,” said a counsellor at the Libyan
Embassy, Masoud S. El Koshly. Ambassador Ben Sadik, who arrived in
Indonesia five months ago, said he had promised the Libyan foreign
minister to “focus on strengthening economic cooperation with
Indonesia”.
With more than US$120 billion foreign exchange
reserves and 48 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, Libya offers
many opportunities for Indonesian companies. The new Libya is planning
to spend $500 billion in the next 25 years to rebuild the country.
In
the first 11 months of 2013, Indonesia’s trade with Libya reached $433
million. In 2012, bilateral trade stood at $576.50 million, a huge jump
from $19 million in 2011.
“We welcome Indonesian companies to
invest in Libya. Our doors are open to Indonesia. We will sign an
agreement with Indonesia to recruit Indonesian workers to work in
Libya,” Ben Sadik said.
Indonesia’s private oil and gas company,
Medco Energi Internasional, is already present in Libya. According to
Medco’s president director, Lukman Mahfoedz, Medco will start producing
around 50,000 barrels per day from its Area-47 oil and gas block. State
construction company Wika previously built some houses in Libya. After
halting the purchase of oil from Libya, Indonesia resumed purchasing oil
from the country in 2012. In the last two years, Indonesia has bought
almost $1 billion worth of crude oil from the North African country.