Tripoli — Delegates from divided Libya’s east and west have agreed on procedures, criteria and timelines for appointing a governor, deputy governor and board of directors for the country’s central bank, the United Nations Libya mission (UNSMIL) said on Wednesday in a statement.
The agreement could help defuse a crisis over control of the central bank and oil revenue that has slashed Libya’s oil output and exports.
Libya has been divided since 2014 into rival authorities in the west and east that emerged from the widespread chaos following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
The recent central bank crisis began when the head of the Presidential Council based in Tripoli, Mohammed al-Menfi, moved to replace veteran central bank Governor Sadiq al-Kabir last month. That led Libya’s eastern factions to order a halt of oil flows across the country’s oil fields in protest.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation said on Aug. 28 that oil production had dropped by more than half from typical levels. It has not made public any new production figures since then.
The UN Libya Mission said delegates from the House of Representatives, based in Benghazi in the east, and the High State Council based in Tripoli in the west had reached a compromise on appointing a new leadership for the bank, but it did not give any names.
It added that it will host on Thursday a signing ceremony with the attendance of the international community.
Reporting by Enas Alashray, Ahmed Elumami and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Hugh Lawson – Reuters
