TRIPOLI, 4 April 2004 — The Tripoli trade fair has attracted about 3,000 foreign firms, twice last year’s number, signaling greater investor interest following an improvement in relations between Libya and the US and Britain. Visits by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns last month were the culmination of a lengthy process of detente.

The trips came as a reward for and reflect confidence in Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s promise in last December to abandon weapons of mass destruction programs. “The increased attendance of firms from 40 countries at the Tripoli fair is evidence about the interest the international community is showing toward building economic relations with Libya,” said Prime Minister Shokri Ghanem, who opened the fair late on Friday.

“The strong participation by foreign companies is also evidence about the support and the encouragement by the international community for Libya’s economic reforms,” Shokri told Reuters. The fair lasts until April 12. The Libyan government plans to privatize most state-owned companies, including some energy firms, in the coming years as part of a drive to turn the state-dominated economy into a fully free market economy.

Libyans hope the rapprochement with the US will help increase investment in the country’s economy after years of sanctions and isolation. “The latest decision by Libya (in December) was the main factor behind the increase in the number of foreign firms and countries attending the Tripoli fair,” said Khaled Salah Senoussi, head of Libya’s Fairs Organization. Asked by Reuters about attendance by US firms, Senoussi said no company from the United States was taking part in the fair but his organization plans to arrange three separate exhibitions for US concerns later this year, including one in pharmaceuticals and another in foods.