TRIPOLI – The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) convened today the Berlin Process Economic Working Group (EWG) Plenary at its premises in Tripoli, bringing together Libyan institutions, member states and international and regional organizations to discuss Libya’s pressing economic and financial challenges and explore coordinated support for Libyan-led reforms.
In her opening remarks, SRSG Hanna Tetteh noted that despite favourable energy prices in 2026, Libya faces growing economic pressures, including excessive public spending, dinar depreciation and declining purchasing power, with the Libyan people bearing the brunt.
She warned that weak economic governance, political interference in sovereign economic and oversight institutions, and illicit activities, including fuel smuggling and money laundering, continue to divert billions of dollars away from the Libyan people and undermine economic and financial stability. Stressing the close links between economic governance and Libya's broader political process, the SRSG called for concrete, coordinated action to strengthen institutional accountability, safeguard public resources and ensure that Libya's national wealth benefits all Libyans.
The meeting was co-chaired by Egypt, the United States, the European Union and UNSMIL, with participation from Libya’s National Audit Bureau and the National Oil Corporation. In addition to the co-chairs, international participants joining in person and online included representatives of Algeria, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Spain, Türkiye, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, as well as the Arab League and the African Union.
Discussions focused on measures necessary to enhancing transparency and oversight of public resources, safeguarding key sovereign institutions, and addressing illicit economic and financial activities, including fuel smuggling, illicit financial flows and money laundering, in view of strengthening economic governance for the Libyan people. Participants also listened to presentations by representatives of Libyan institutions on Libya’s ongoing reform efforts in the oil and banking sectors, implementation challenges and areas where coordinated international support could add value.
The plenary underscored the urgency of reforms and close cooperation with national institutions, and considered practical follow-up priorities for international stakeholders to support fiscal stability, institutional coherence and coordination, transparency and accountable economic governance, under the shared objective of ensuring that Libya’s national wealth serves the interests of all Libyans.
