First of all, let me repeat how honoured and happy we are – on behalf of the audit company and the UN – we were honoured to be able to deliver the audit report of the Central Bank, both branches of the Central Bank. This official ceremony that is convened and hosted and chaired by His Excellency the President of the Presidency Council is a very important step towards the unification of the Central Bank and the banking system of the country, as the essential prerequisite for the economic development of the country, for the development of the private sector, public sector, and the banking sector.

Only the gradual unification in the country will enable further unification of all the necessary national institutions including the Central Bank and other institutions of the state, and without such a unification we cannot speak about the unity of the country that all of you strive for. And although this might seem technical; this unification of the central bank is an important step that should lead to enhancing the well-being of the people and that is also adding the necessary impetus and encouragement to other processes, especially, the political process that eventually should culminate in the holding of national elections on 24 December 2021.

I would like to encourage all the Libyan institutions and authorities and parties to take a good example from this very important move, and if the Central Bank can be unified, it represents a good example for others to start working together;  and notably for working together to prepare the holding of the elections on 24 December 2021. As UNSMIL and myself as the Special Envoy, we will spare no efforts in trying, working, encouraging, and facilitating steps that are necessary for the holding of national elections on 24 December. This is the main focus of my meetings with different leaders and institutions during my visit to Libya in this period and this is the main focus of my activities in the coming period, together, with the work on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

And using this opportunity, I would like very much to acknowledge the very good, professional, and patriotic work of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission that is working as much as it can to ensure a gradual, but rapid implementation in full of the ceasefire agreement including the withdrawal, of foreign fighters, mercenaries and foreign forces.

Once again, I am very much honoured and I am encouraged by this ceremony. It is not only a ceremony, it is a substantive step towards the unification of different institutions of the country and towards the unification of Libya, bringing more stability, peace, and prosperity for Libya.

Question [inaudible]

Special Envoy: I would say that the LPDF meeting in Switzerland was not a failure, it was a very useful session that discussed different ideas and proposals that should move the country towards the elections and we will continue working with the LPDF and facilitating their meetings. At the end of this week only, we would like to see the continuation of the work of a committee that was created in Geneva last week to proceed with the unification of different proposals and the creation of some ideas about how to work on a constitutional basis for holding the elections.

We must not forget that it is the responsibility of the House of Representatives in consultation with the High Council of State to prepare the necessary legislation and to work on the clarification of the constitutional basis for the holding of the elections, and this was the focus of my discussions with the Chairpersons of these two institutions [HoR and HCS] that I held in the past days. And let’s recognize the important work, that is a non-stop work, of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) that is preparing for the elections as we speak, through the voter registration process. Only several days ago, they opened a media center and they are working to prepare for the elections, but of course, they need to have clarity on the constitutional basis and on the necessary electoral laws, and that should come from the House of Representatives, in consultation with the High Council of State and other respective stakeholders.

Next week I plan to discuss the situation in Libya, including what is happening on the elections file and what is happening in the ceasefire agreement implementation, in New York with members of the Security Council. There will be a ministerial meeting of the Security Council, chaired by France, on the 15^th of July and that’s another opportunity to mobilize the support of the international community for these very important objectives that the Libyan people put for themselves to implement and achieve.

Thank you