The United Nations Mission in Libya declared today, Wednesday, that representatives from the House of Representatives and the State Council have reached a settlement in the conclusion of consultations aimed at addressing the crisis of the Central Bank of Libya, concerning the appointment of new leadership for the bank.
The UN mission stated in a release that the representatives of both councils have preliminarily signed an agreement regarding the procedures, standards, and timelines for appointing a governor, a deputy governor, and a board of directors for the Central Bank of Libya, according to the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement.
The UN mission added in its statement that it would host a signing ceremony tomorrow, Thursday, attended by several representatives of diplomatic missions in Libya. The Libyan House of Representatives’ representative in the mission’s consultations on the Central Bank crisis, Hadi Al-Saghir, mentioned today that a final agreement was reached, nominating Naji Issa as the governor and Marai Al-Barasi as the deputy. Al-Saghir further noted that the agreement stipulates the formation of a new board of directors for the Central Bank consisting of six members.
The crisis at Libya’s Central Bank has been deeply intertwined with the nation’s broader political strife following a decade of division between eastern and western factions. The conflict escalated due to disputes over the legitimacy of leadership appointments, specifically the position of the central bank’s governor, which has been a point of contention between competing government bodies.
The crisis began to intensify when the Central Bank’s governor and senior officials were forced to flee due to security threats, leading to a paralysis in the bank’s operations. This occurred after repeated disputes over leadership legitimacy and authority, resulting in the suspension of oil production by eastern factions, which significantly impacted Libya’s economy.
