The final conference of the project “PATH DEV – Pilot action in the fishing sector for Libyan economic development” was held in Udine last 2nd April. The project, funded by the Italian Ministry of the Interior, was managed by Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region with the operational support of Informest.

A Libyan delegation of 35 experts, leaded by the mayors of Tripoli, Benghazi, Zliten and Sirte, has participated at the conference, illustrating the current situation of the fishing sector in Libya. The representatives of the national authorities responsible for the food safety, certification and the labelling of the product were the speakers together the representatives of the Italian civil servants, acting in the same fields. The goal of the conference and of the project overall was a comparison with the regional experts on the opportunities of the fishing sector, taking stock of the activities and the results reached thanks to the actions of the PATH DEV project.

The project started in February 2018 with the aim to strengthen the Libyan local economic development in the fishing field, training the local experts and the private actors. In fact, over 40 Libyan technicians and experts jointed 3 types of trainings on the certification and labelling processes in conformity with European standards, on navigation and fishing techniques, and on the assessment of the material and immaterial heritage of the fishery sector in Libya.

The job was remarkable and the results were satisfying both from the Italian and the Libyan side. Now, thanks to the project, we have an updated evaluation of the state of infrastructures, the fishing techniques and the professional schools still open, as well as the Libyan fishing heritage, which the Italian and regional companies could use to launch future collaborations and trade agreements.

Piero Mauro Zanin, President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Legislative Assembly, showed his satisfaction for the project, saying that the conference allowed to reach “’ a dual purpose: to launch a message of appeasement in Libya and to create an opportunity for development, creating a stable economy that can stabilize and supervision the Country, also to avoid new migrations.”