GENEVA, 14 December 2020 - Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Stephanie Williams convened today a technical meeting on critical reforms of the Libyan economy.  The meeting, co-presided by Egypt, the United States, and the European Union, as co-chairs of the Economic Working Group on Libya of the Berlin Process, and attended by the World Bank, brings together representatives of both branches of the Central Bank of Libya, of the Ministry of Finance, Audit Bureau, and of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), as well as members of the Libyan Experts Economic Commission, to discuss currency reform, the banking crisis, the unification of the national budget, including a time table to implement these reforms.

The meeting in Geneva is taking place against the backdrop of several promising developments, including the full resumption of Libyan oil production thanks to the significant efforts of the National Oil Corporation.  The revenues thus far accrued by the NOC are being withheld pending further progress towards a more durable economic arrangement.   The participants also broadly welcomed the decision by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Libya to this week convene a board meeting that is expected to tackle unification of the exchange rate.  The unification of Libya’s financial institutions is crucial for the success of the needed economic reforms. UNSMIL continues to facilitate the international audit review of both branches of the Central Bank of Libya; the audit is now nearly halfway complete. It is a vital process to ease the re-unification of the Central Bank and to fully re-establish national accountability mechanisms.

“I sincerely hope that in the next two days an agreement can be reached on concrete objectives on the issues of currency reform, the check clearing crisis, the overall banking crisis, and budget unification as well as on a clear timetable for actions to be taken to implement these reforms,” ASRSG Williams said addressing the meeting and reiterated that, “Time is not on your side. We need to move quickly and decisively, and I count on you to take these important steps in the coming two days.”

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