The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Al-Siddiq Al-Kabir met on Wednesday Representative of the World Health Organisation in Libya, Elizabeth Hoff, and the delegation accompanying her.
The Governor and Hoff discussed the effort being exerted by the World Health Organisation to combat Coronavirus and children immunizations in Libya.
A well informed source learned that negotiations and discussions are underway to change the presidency of the current Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), represented by Dr. Ali Mahmoud.
Negotiations and discussions are currently taking place within the circles of the Government of National Unity, to dismiss the Chairman of LIA, and appoint another agreeable and competent figure to take over the post of the Chairman of the top sovereign fund in Libya, well-informed sources told Ean Libya.
It is worth noting that Ali Mahmoud has exhausted his legal period to remain as a chairman of LIA, which is limited to five years.
On November 18, 2020, a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Libyan Investment Authority was held in the capital, Tripoli, and it was attended by the ex-Head of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez Al-Sarraj, as Chairman, in addition to the Minister of Planning, the Minister of Economy, the Minister of Finance, and the the governor of the Central Bank of Libya.
During the meeting, confidence in the current Chairman of LIA, Dr. Ali Mahmoud, and the rest of the board members was renewed, with Ali Bani appointed as a replacement for Mustafa Al-Manea.
The Libyan Investment Authority, a sovereign fund for Libyan wealth, was established in 2006. It is now managing, according to the latest announced figures, about $67 billion of the oil sector funds in Libya by investing in 550 different specialized companies operating in many fields around the world, in the hope of finding other sources of income for the country other than oil.
Following a meeting between French President Emanuel Macron with Libya’s head of presidential council Mohammed al-Menfi and his deputy Mousa Al-Koni, France’s premier announced that they will be reopening their embassy in Tripoli next week.
“As of Monday, our embassy in Tripoli will reopen, and our ambassador, who has never ceased to work to make it happen will tread your soil to put in place everything we talked about with you”, the French President said.
Brega Oil Marketing Company said on Wednesday that the fuel distribution to supply companies is proceeding as expected and that reception of fuel from all ports continues as per usual.
The company announced the arrival of Anwar Libya oil tanker carrying 34 million litres of fuel and the resumption of distribution to companies for delivery to their gas stations.
The company also called on citizens to remain patient, responsible.
According to the washington post, the new government of national unity (GNU) faces monumental hurdles, starting with renewing basic services, unifying the central bank and other state institutions, and organizing democratic elections promised for December.
Most troublingly, the foreign powers that have marshaled some 20,000 fighters in the country in violation of a U.N. ban.
Yet diplomats and analysts who have followed Libya’s dispiriting history since a NATO military intervention led to the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gaddafi sound almost giddy about what they describe as an unlikely reversal of the country’s downward spiral.
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ján Kubiš arrived yesterday in Tripoli to continue his engagements with the new interim Government of National Unity and various Libyan actors to fast-track the implementation of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) Roadmap, including mobilizing the required support and resources to hold the national elections on 24 December 2021.
The President of the Presidency Council (PC) Mr. Mohamed Almenfi and his deputies Mr. Abdullah El-Lafi and Mr. Musa Alkoni received Mr. Kubiš in Tripoli yesterday, accompanied by ASG/UNSMIL Coordinator, Mr. Raisedon Zenenga and ASG/Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ms. Georgette Gagnon.
In the meeting, the PC leadership reiterated their commitment to implement the LPDF roadmap, including fostering a comprehensive national reconciliation process; unifying sovereign institutions; and importantly to hold the elections on 24 December 2021.
The meeting with PC leadership covered the need to accelerate the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement, including the removal of foreign fighters, and the unification of security institutions. The PC also reiterated the need for the House of Representatives (HoR) to accelerate the process of appointing leadership positions for sovereign institutions.
The Special Envoy congratulated the PC leadership for the formal commencement of their work, commending their commitment to the LPDF roadmap. He affirmed the unified support of the UN and the international community to the Libyan people as well as to the new leadership to meet their commitments within the timeframe defined by the LPDF.
The Special Envoy also met with Prime Minister, Mr. Abdelhamid AlDabaiba. He congratulated the Prime Minister on the historic vote of confidence by the HoR and smooth handover from the Government of National Accord.
The Special Envoy briefed the Prime Minister on the outcomes of his visits to several European and regional capitals as well as his outreach to a number of international and regional high-level stakeholders. He assured the Prime Minister of the unanimous support of the international community to his government to address the economic, humanitarian, security, human rights, and development challenges in the country.
The Special Envoy and Prime Minister agreed on the importance of prioritizing the needs of the people, including the response to COVID-19, and the provision of essential services. They stressed the urgent need to approve the national budget to ensure service delivery, allocate resources for local governance, and to hold the national elections on 24 December 2021.
They also discussed various issues including the required UN support to expedite the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement and unification of state institutions.
Earlier yesterday, the Special Envoy met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Najla AlMangoush, who expressed her appreciation for the UN and international community’s support extended to Libya during this critical time. She stressed the need for a more coordinated approach to address the root causes of the conflict in Libya in order to launch a comprehensive and realistic process of national reconciliation and restorative justice.
Mr. Kubiš reiterated the UN’s readiness to mobilize the technical expertise needed to assist the new government in all areas to ensure an effective transition to stability and lasting peace.
The Special Envoy will conduct a series of meetings with various Libyan stakeholders in the coming days.
Libya’s first-ever female Foreign Minister for the Government of National Unity (GNU), Najla Al-Mangoush, announced the ministry intentions to reduce members of Libyan staff outside the country working in Libyan embassies.
In a statement, the ministry’s media office quoted Al-Mangoush as saying that she intends to “appoint new ambassadors, and reduce staff numbers in accordance with the requirements of the current stage,” without giving further details in this regard.
The Libyan Media Corporation (LMC) announced that the state-run News Agency (LANA) that had been split into two entities since 2014 has been reunified.
Having two different state-run news agencies has meant that the narrative of events in the country was divided, causing a social rift contributing to hatred and biases between the eastern and western areas of the country.
The Prime Minister of the national unity government, Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, discussed during a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, on Sunday, in Tripoli, the issue of illegal immigration,
Dbeibah explained that this file is international and is not related to Libya only and cannot be resolved from the middle only, pointing to the Mediterranean and that Libya is a transit country, calling for action through a solidarity policy that addresses this file from the country of origin to the country of destination.
The Italian Foreign Minister pointed out that “Libya should not be the talk of Europe only with regard to illegal immigration, but there are other files in which Libya must be coordinated and supported.”
