Italy and the Middle East: The year of the trade revival

In: The Middle East, Heft 177, S. 25-28

Abstract

This special survey sheds light on Italy's major effort in 1989 to boost trade in particular with the former Gulf combatants but also with North African neighbours, foremost among them Libya, where traditional ties were badly shaken following the Achille Lauro incident and the American raids on Tripoli and Benghazi in April 1986. Italy's export performance is compared with that of other Western industrial states. As is emphasized, however, much of Italy's effort in the Middle East has been expended on chasing debts in the region. In the case of Libyan debt the possiblity of taking oil as payment has not been excluded. (DÜI-Asd)