Libya Says Turkey Wants to Buy More Oil Directly

Turkey's government has told Libya it wants to source more of its oil from the north African country using direct deals, a Libyan government minister said. Turkey made the request on 24 November 2009 during a visit to Libya by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and a delegation of 150 Turkish businessmen.

"In the meeting the Turkish delegation told (top Libyan oil official Shokri) Ghanem that they need to buy as much Libyan oil as possible directly," said Libyan minister Maatoug Mohammed Maatoog, who is head of a Libyan-Turkish friendship committee.

He said the two governments would sign agreements on 25 November 2009 for more investment and cooperation on agriculture and technology. Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi said that Libya and Turkey had cancelled visa requirements for travel between the two countries. - Reuters