Seoul mission head Alghali assures safety of Korean businesses and workers in his country


While the rebels and pro-Gadhafi forces fought for control of the heart of the country, diplomatic missions all over the world flew the African country’s new flag.

In Seoul on Wednesday, the Libyan mission hauled down the all-green flag used by the Gadhafi regime.

With the new flag come assurances from the Libyan Mission in Seoul that it will be business as usual between Korean firms and the National Transitional Council, who is currently running most of the country.

“We want to assure the Korean people and companies here that the National Transitional Council will respect all the contracts and accords signed in the past between both countries,” said the Head of the Libyan Diplomatic Mission Masaoud B. Alghali.

Once the revolution broke out in Libya, 1,400 Korean workers from 300 different building sites were evacuated with just a few remaining.

Alghali assured that the Korean workers who stayed and those who come back will be protected.

“NTC will protect all the Korean citizens there,” he told The Korea Herald.

With over 90 percent of the country under new leadership, the NTC informed the Libyan mission here that they are very interested in the future growth prospects that both countries could embark in with Korea in every sector.

“We invite Korean companies to participate in rebuilding the new Libya,” he said.

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency made an early estimate that Korean firms could benefit from the over $120 billion worth of construction deals.

Korean companies hold a significant stake in the development of Libya, accounting for one-third of all foreign business in the country.

According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, since the beginning of the year, there was $36.4 billion worth of construction projects in Libya.

But that is just the start because the NTC is also interested in learning from the Korean development experiences, and with it, more deals inked in many different sectors besides infrastructure development and oil production.

Production of oil, Libya’s main export, will begin soon. “That means prices of oil will come down,” he said with a smile.

Due to the conflict, trade between both countries has been hit with exports diving nearly 88 percent for the first seven months of the year, according to the Korean International Trade Association.

By replacing the Gadhafi regime’s flag, the mission and NTC is hopeful that new horizons will be open in the relationship between new Libya and Korea.

Korea is not the first country to fly the new colors over its mission.

On March 10, France became the first to fly the red, black and green flag in support of the council as the official government of Libya, and on March 21, the flag was raised by the Libyan Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

Last week, all over the world, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya diplomats announced verbally, or by flying the council’s flag, that they were defecting to the rebel administration, while others deserted their missions.

The flag under the Gadhafi-led government adopted in 1977 was the only national flag in the world to have just one color and no design, insignia or other details.

It was chosen by Gadhafi to reflect the historical green banners of the Fatimid Caliphate, a former Arab Shia Muslim state that ruled over the region from 909-1171.

By Yoav Cerralbo (yoav@heraldcorp.com)