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 Libya |  India |
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India–Libya relations are bilateraldiplomatic relations betweenIndia andLibya. India maintains an embassy[1] inTripoli and Libya has an embassy inNew Delhi.
India and Libya enjoy strong bilateral ties. India established its embassy in Tripoli in 1969 and theIndian Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi visited Libya in 1984. The Libyan government underMuammar Gaddafi was a member of theNon Aligned Movement and a supporter of India. Gaddafi himself had deep respect forJawaharlal Nehru who was also the only non-Arab, non-African leader to be commemorated during thefortieth anniversary celebrations of the Libyan revolution.[2][3][4] In 1975, Gaddafi had praised India for India's policy of self-reliance and industrial development.[5]
India has generally been supportive of Libya in international fora. Libya has supported India's claim for apermanent seat on theUN Security Council.[citation needed] India welcomed theUN Security Council resolution 1506 of 2003 that lifted sanctions imposed on Libya and there followed a series of high level visits between the two countries till the ouster of the Gaddafi regime in 2011.[6][7]
During theLibyan Civil War, India abstained from voting on theUN Security Council's Resolutions 1970 and 1973 that authorisedNATO action in Libya.[8] In Lok Sabha, resolution was uniamously adopted to condemnNATO's military intervention in Libya.[9] Indian prime ministerManmohan Singh had also criticized the West for the use of force to enforce regime change in a speech at the UN in September 2011.[10] India was silent over the killing of Gaddafi.[3][11] Although India was among the last few countries to recognise the Libyan National Transitional Council, it agreed to work with the council to help rebuild Libya.[12] India resent an ambassador to Tripoli in July 2012 having shut its mission in Tripoli in 2011.[13]
Libya's formerPrime MinisterAli Zidan is an alumnus of theJawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and a career diplomat who had served in India in the late 1970s, while thepresident,Mohammad Yousef Al-Magarief, was Libya's ambassador to India during 1978-81.[14][15]
Despite Libya supporting Pakistan, relations still exist.
At the time of the Libyan Revolution, there were 18,000 Indians in Libya.[16] Across Libya Indians are respected as a disciplined workforce and Indian doctors and teachers are acknowledged as the best in the country. India dispatched two naval ships theINS Mysore andINS Jalashwa to ferry Indians from Libya toEgypt andMalta after the beginning of hostilities between the rebels and Gaddafi's forces and was allowed to operate nearly 50Air India evacuation flights fromTripoli.[2][17] While most of them left during the conflict, a few hundred stayed back mainly working in Libyan universities and hospitals. Following the end of hostilities in Libya and the formation of a new government there, India partially lifted its ban on emigration of Indians to Libya in June 2012.[18]
Trade between Libya and India amounted to $1.35 billion in 2012-13, with thebalance of trade heavily in favour of Libya. Indian exports to Libya stood at $144 million while its imports were valued at $1.2 billion.[19] Indianpublic sector companies likeBHEL,Indian Oil Corporation,Oil India andONGC Videsh are involved in Libya's hydrocarbon sector and private companies likei-Flex Solutions,Punj Lloyd, Unitech andSun Pharma are present in Libya and have executed projects there. Since the 1980s, Indian companies have undertaken several infrastructural projects relating to the construction of hospitals, power plants, airports, dams and transmission lines in Libya.[20][21] Although Libya is an oil rich country, India imports only a minuscule proportion of its oil from Libya. Indians however are an important part of the workforce in the construction and petroleum sectors and theirremittances to India are significant.[22]
India has been extending scholarships and training Libyan personnel under itsIndian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, theIndian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and under the India-Africa Summit Program. Libya has been linked to thePan-African e-Network project being undertaken by India.[23] Libya and the Election Commission of India have signed an agreement for sharing expertise and the training of personnel in Libya in the conduct of elections.[24] Following theLibyan Civil War, the Government of India gifted 1000Jaipur Footartificial limbs to injured Libyans and has proposed the establishment of an Indo-Libyan Prosthetics Center and Vocational Training and Research Centers in Libya. India also provided theLibyan National Transitional Council (NTC) with a humanitarian assistance of $1 million and provided it with another $1 million worth of essential drugs.[25]
The Embassy of India in Tripoli is adiplomatic mission of theRepublic of India toLibya. Embassy is temporarily relocated to Tunisia due to fragile political and security situation in Libya.[26][27]
India established resident diplomatic mission in 1969. Embassy operations shifted to Tunisia in 2011 after the fall ofMuammar Gaddafi. Embassy in Tripoli maintains presence through staff on rotation. India is trying to re-establish full-time resident embassy in Tripoli.Embassy of India, Tunis looks after affairs related to Libya.[28]
Scholarships are offered by the embassy to local nationals to study in India.[29][30]
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