Indian companies not welcome in Libya
Libya has begun erecting “entry barriers” against Indian companies as punishment for Delhi’s stance during the uprising that deposed Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
An Indian oilfield services contractor and regular visitor to Libya, who this week returned to Delhi from Tripoli, says there’s a change in mood towards Indian companies. “The new Libyan government wants to give jobs to France, Britain, the US and all those countries that helped them in the fight against Gaddafi,” he tells us.
“The Libyans have not forgotten India’s stance at the United Nations and Indian companies are now facing many entry barriers that were not there before.” When fighting began last year the United Nations Security Council voted to impose a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace in a vote on March 18.
Indian UN deputy ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri joined Germany, Russia, China and Brazil to abstain, in a move widely interpreted by rebels as tacit support for the Gaddafi regime.