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By Shane McGinley
Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi once sought the help of Dubai’s ruler to build a modern city similar to Dubai in the North African country, but the plans stalled due to corruption and infighting, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said.
“Gaddafi called me and told me ‘Mohammed, I would like to establish a city in Libya that is similar to Dubai’,” Sheikh Mohammed told delegates during a question and answer session at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Sunday.
“Of course I could not say no to an Arab country that had requested our help. Therefore, we sent a specialised delegation. They travelled and they surveyed and inspected the site and visited the capital,” he added.
The proposal drawn up by the Dubai delegation included plans for financial markets, shopping malls, universities, schools, hospitals and much more, the Dubai ruler said. However, the project stalled due to the high levels of corruption and conflict within Gaddafi’s regime.
"When the team decided to start their work the fights and conflicts started as well. The conflicts from the levels that were above Gaddafi, so the team started to notice that there was a problem at the top and they could not proceed,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
“If that project was to be have been achieved it would have been an economic city for the African continent and Libya and Libya would have a way better situation,” he added.
While the Dubai leader did not give any dates for when the talks took place regarding plans for the Dubai-style city in Libya, he did lead a delegation to Libya for talks with Gaddafi in October 2010, in which they “discussed topics of mutual interest”, according to a report by Emirates 24/7 news website.
A few months later the Arab Spring movement began in Tunisia in early 2011 and later spread to Libya. The former leader, who had ruled Libya for over three decades, was killed during fighting on October 20, 2011. Since his overthrow, factions have been fighting for control of the country with rival governments set up in the capital and the east.
© Zawya 2017
