Western 1 Nov 16

Nov 1, 2016 | International actors

On 31 October, the US Secretary of State John Kerry and the UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson hosted a two day inter-ministerial meeting London focusing on the deteriorating economic situation in Libya. Members of the Presidential Council, the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), the National Oil Company (NOC) and the Audit Bureau attended the meeting with the aim of formulating an ‘economic roadmap’ for Libya. Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, French D‎irector General for Political Affairs and Security N‎icolas de Riviere, Saudi Ambassador Mohammed bin Nawaf Al-Saud and UN Envoy to Libya Martin Kobler also attended, and reaffirmed their support for PM Fayez Serraj and the GNA. They also noted the progress of GNA-aligned Misratan forces in fighting ISIS in Sirte.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of growing tensions between the PC and the current governor of the CBL, Sadiq al-Kabir. In addition, on 29 October, the HoR announced it intends to replace Kabir, whose term in office officially expired one month ago, and the CBL board with a three-person team comprising one representative from each of Libya’s three regions, led by Mohammed al-Shukri from western Libya. On 31 October, some members of the House of Representatives (HoR), along with PC member Ali Gutrani, a hard-liner support of Haftar who has often boycotted the PC for its anti-Haftar stance, issued a statement condemning the London meeting.