Representatives from Libya’s rival eastern and western legislative bodies signed an agreement on Thursday, facilitated by the United Nations, to resolve the crisis over leadership of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL). This agreement includes the nomination of an interim governor and deputy, which could alleviate tensions regarding control of the CBL and oil revenues that have significantly decreased Libya’s oil output and exports.
The factions have agreed to nominate Naji Mohamed Issa Belqasem, the CBL’s director of banking and monetary control, as the interim governor. Mari Muftah Rahil Barrasi, who was appointed deputy governor in 2023, is also nominated to continue in his position. The delegates allowed one week for the approval of the nominees, after which the interim governor will form a board of directors within two weeks.
The crisis was ignited last month when Mohammed al-Menfi, head of the Presidential Council in Tripoli, attempted to replace veteran central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir. This led eastern factions to halt production from Libya’s oil fields in protest. “I want to emphasize the urgent need to end the closure of oil fields and disruption of oil production and export, and I welcome the pledges from the east to address this issue shortly,” stated Stephanie Koury, the acting head of the U.N. Libya mission (UNSMIL).
The legislative bodies involved are the House of Representatives (HoR) in Benghazi and the High State Council (HSC) in Tripoli. HSC delegate Jalil Al-Shawesh described the negotiations as “long and difficult,” while HoR delegate Abdul Hadi Al-Sghayer noted that “the agreement will not be completed except by the combined efforts of the members of the two councils and the approval of the governor and his deputy.”
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, Libya has been divided into rival authorities in the east and west. “This crisis has shown the imperative for all parties to refrain from unilateral decisions. Such decisions not only escalate tensions, but they also deepen the institutional divisions,” Koury added.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation reported on August 28 that oil production had fallen to less than half of typical levels, and it has not released any new production figures since then. Crude exports for September have averaged about 400,000 barrels per day, down from over 1 million bpd in August, according to shipping data.
(This story has been corrected to fix the attribution of quotes to the acting head of the U.N. Libya mission (UNSMIL) in paragraphs 6 and 10.)
