Libya tightens border rules with Tunisia and Egypt

The Libyan Customs Authority has introduced new controls to enhance transit operations at land borders with Tunisia and Egypt, while safeguarding the country from spoiled or substandard goods, as reported by African Manager on August 13th.

The measures emerged from a meeting between the acting director, Major General Musa Ali Mohammed, the heads of the General Administration of Technical Affairs, the International Transit Department, and the International Cooperation Office. Officials reviewed persistent obstacles to the movement of goods through Libyan territory and outlined steps to address them.

The news comes in the same week the Egyptian Deputy Minister of Transport for Road Transport revealed that a road connecting Egypt, Chad and Libya will start construction in the next month. No doubt a move to increase the efficiency of trade routes between the countries.

The Authority agreed to instruct customs centre officials that all transit operations, whether bound for or originating from Tunisia or Egypt, require prior authorisation from the International Cooperation Office. Exporting companies must also provide a refundable financial guarantee equal to the value of the goods, to be released upon successful completion of the transit process.

The relations between the countries show signs of unity for the sake of increasing trade. For example, figures within Tunisia have been keen on the country helping Libya with its reconstruction plans. However, plans for the Tunisian buffer zone to keep Tunisia secure from illegal crossings by Libya has been extended for another year.

The Authority reaffirmed its commitment to the recommendations of the Libyan-Tunisian Customs Technical Committee for managing goods in transit. Predictive analysis will continue to assess the quality and compliance of transiting cargo. If such analysis produces negative results, the goods in question must be destroyed in their intended destination country.

By tightening these procedures, Libyan customs officials aim to improve efficiency at the borders, strengthen cooperation with neighbouring states, and prevent the circulation of goods that fail to meet the required standards.

African Manager, Maghrebi.org