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India welcomed the progress made in the formation of transitional executive authority in oil-rich Libya and expressed hope that all parties will work constructively towards implementation of the roadmap of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) and holding of elections.

India's Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti, who is chair of the U.N. Security Councils Libya Sanctions Committee, had said that the committee is a very important subsidiary body of the Council, which implements the sanctions regime, including a two-way arms embargo on Libya and assets freeze, a travel ban and measures on illicit export of petroleum.

I welcome the progress made today in formation of transitional executive authority in #Libya. I hope that all Libyan parties will work constructively towards implementation of LPDF Roadmap & holding of #elections," Mr. Tirumurti tweeted on Friday.

Mr. Tirumurti, who assumed the committee's chair last month, also called the 1970 Sanctions Committee, for a period ending December 31, 2021.

He had said that India was assuming the chair of this committee at a critical juncture, when there is international focus on Libya and on the peace process. The 74-members of the U.N.-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum selected an interim Prime Minister and President of its new executive council, marking what the U.N. Special Representative called another historic moment on the road to unification of the war-torn country and national elections in December.

Mohammad Younes Menfi was selected President of the Presidency Council and Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah was elected prime minister.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the selection by members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum of a unified temporary executive authority. He called on all members of the dialogue and the Libyan and international stakeholders to respect the results of the vote.

The U.N. chief welcomed the pledges made by the new executive authority to form a government reflecting political pluralism, geographic representation, and its commitment to include no less than 30% of women in executive positions, as well as to ensure the participation of youth.

The United Nations commitment to support the Libyan people in their efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous country will continue. After the ceasefire that was agreed, the election that now took place shows that Libya is moving in the right direction, he said.

Acting Special Representative and head of the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Stephanie Williams said that on behalf of the United Nations, she was pleased to witness this historic moment. The importance of the decision that you have taken here today will grow with the passage of time in the collective memory of the Libyan people, she said.

Libya descended into crises on multiple fronts, since the fall of former ruler Muammar Gadaffi in 2011, with the country essentially divided between a U.N.-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital Tripoli, and a rival administration, led by General Hafter, who commands the western-based self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

Oil, the lifeline of Libya's economy, has long been a key factor in the civil war, as rival authorities jostle for control of oil fields and state revenue. Libya has the ninth largest known oil reserves in the world and the biggest oil reserves in Africa.

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Welcome progress made in formation of transitional executive authority in Libya: U.N. Ambassador Tirumurti - The Hindu

GENEVA (AP) Delegates from Libyas warring factions on Friday selected four leaders to guide the North African country through to national elections in December in a major if uncertain step toward unifying a nation with two separate governments in the east and west.

In what could become a landmark achievement to end one of the intractable conflicts left behind by the Arab Spring a decade ago, the 74 delegates chose a list of candidates in a U.N.-hosted process aimed to give balance to regional powers and various political and economic interests.

Mohammad Younes Menfi, a Libyan diplomat with a support base in the countrys east, was chosen to head the three-person Presidential Council. Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, a powerful businessman backed by western tribes, was chosen as interim prime minister.

The U.N. process, known as the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, was aimed at choosing an interim authority to oversee Libya as part of an effort to rebuild state institutions and lead to national elections planned for Dec. 24.

The three council members each represent Libyas east, west and south regions.

Menfi's list was elected in a runoff as none of four lists initially proposed secured the required 60% of votes from the delegates in the first round. The mandate came after a relatively close vote: 39 to 34, with one abstention.

Capping a U.N.-led diplomatic process that began in Berlin in January last year, forum delegates began meeting on Monday in an undisclosed location near Geneva, before reducing their selection on Friday to four, then two, and finally one list of candidates for interim prime minister and the council.

The voting took place under the mediation of the U.N. secretary-generals acting special representative for Libya, Stephanie Williams, in hopes to bring stability to an oil-rich North African country that has been largely lawless since Moammar Gadhafi was toppled and killed in 2011.

I am pleased to witness this historic moment, Williams said after the results. The decision that you have taken today will grow with the passage of time in the collective memory of the Libyan people.

Our bet was that you would be able to build a truly Libyan-owned solution, and that is what you have done," she said, addressing the delegates. The challenges are not behind you.

Under outlined steps, Dbeibah must now form a Cabinet and present its program within three weeks. Williams said the interim government must fully support a cease-fire, uphold the election date and launch a comprehensive national reconciliation process."

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that the Biden administration fully supports this outcome of the U.N.-facilitated process that will lead to a stable, secure Libya and elections in December 2021.

Shortly afterward, the U..S., Britain, France, Germany and Italy released a joint statement welcoming the step and urging all of Libya's factions to work together in support of it. We call on all current Libyan authorities and actors to ensure a smooth and constructive handover of all competences and duties to the new unified executive authority, the statement read.

Since 2015, Libya has been divided between two governments, one in the east and another in the west of the country, each backed by a vast array of militias. In April 2019, Khalifa Hifter, a military commander allied with the eastern government, launched an offensive to seize the capital, Tripoli. His campaign failed after 14 months of fighting and last October, the U.N. convinced both parties to sign a cease-fire agreement and embark on a political dialogue.

The list that got the highest number of votes in the previous round but ultimately lost to the Menfi-Dbeibah list included Aguila Saleh, the politically savvy speaker of Libya's eastern parliament who ran to head the council, and Fathi Bashagha, the powerful interior minister in the western government.

On his Twitter page, Bashagha conceded to the winners and hailed the U.N.-mediated electoral process as the full embodiment of democracy and wished the new government success in running the country.

Jalel Harchaoui, an expert on Libya with the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, said both lists of finalists were flawed and problematic, and expressed doubts about a possible reconciliation.

Hifter and eastern tribes do not feel they are represented. I suspect a profound disappointment in the east, he said. Such discontent could present a path to partition, he said, warning of possible east-west clashes in coming weeks.

At a news conference, Williams said Hifters representatives were in the room today, and were amongst those who agreed that they would accept the results of the vote.

Another key unknown is how the international community and in particular, as many as nine countries that have backed opposing sides in Libya will respond to the vote.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the election very good news and a breakthrough in the search for peace after nearly 10 years. Libya is moving in the right direction and it is absolutely essential to unify Libya and to move onwards on the way to peace, he said.

The internationally recognized government in Tripoli has had the backing of Turkey while Hifter has been supported by countries including Egypt, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The voting process was aired live on several Libyan television channels and streamed on the UNTV website.

Guterres welcomed the newly elected leaders pledges to form a government reflecting political pluralism, geographical representation, and its commitment to include no less than 30% of women in executive positions, as well as to ensure the participation of youth. He appealed to all key Libyan actors to accept the results, and also urged all foreign fighters and mercenaries in the country to withdraw to Tripoli and Benghazi, and then go home.

Some Tripoli residents expressed relief that the election was over, hoping the new authorities would improve their daily lives.

I hope the government will bear its responsibility and think of the crises women and children face and take care of them, said Fatima Mohamed, a school teacher.

"The Presidency Council should stand by the people who suffered from the lack of liquidity in banks, shortage of gasoline, and the lack of chances for a better life, she added.

Success in the longer term is far from certain, analysts said.

Federica Saini Fasanotti, a Libya expert at the Italian Institute of International Political Studies, hailed the moment for Libyans as important for their future but added that it was "premature to give any judgment.

The road ahead for the elections is still very long and full of holes, she said.

___

ElHennawy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Saleh Sarrar in Tripoli, Libya, contributed to this report.

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Libya's factions chose interim government ahead of elections - The Wilton Bulletin

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed on Monday to Mohamed Taher Siala, the minister of foreign affairs of the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, Egypt's support for a "Libyan-Libyan" negotiated political solution, and readiness to work with the newly elected interim government.

The Egyptian foreign minister confirmed [to his Libyan counterpart] the fundamentals of the Egyptian stance towards the sisterly neighbour, Libya, to reach a Libyan-Libyan negotiated political solution that preserves its sovereignty and protects the resources of its people, a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry read.

The meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League (AL) in Cairo, comes days after the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum chose a new interim prime minister, Abdel-Hamid Dbeibah, and a new head for the countrys Presidential Council, Mohammad Younes Menfi, a step that Egypt has hailed.

The Egyptian foreign ministry expressed to FM Siala Egypts readiness to work with the new interim Libyan government until an elected government takes over after the elections, which are scheduled in December.

The Arab foreign ministers tackled during the emergency meeting at the ALmeans to restore Arabs roles in confronting challenges in the region, including the crisis in Libya.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi this week hailed the developments in Libya as a step in the right direction.

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FM Shoukry tells Libyan counterpart Egypt ready to work with new interim government - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online

The Libyan economy has recently been hit by four overlapping shocks: an intensifying conflict that suffocates economic activity, the closure of oil fields that puts the countrys major income-generating activity largely on hold, decreasing oil prices that reduce income from oil production in surviving fields, and the COVID-19 pandemic (with 3,438 confirmed cases and 73 deaths as of August 2020), which threatens to further suppress the economy.

The attack on Tripoli in early 2019 and the blockade of the countrys major oil ports and terminals in January 2020 generated the most serious political, economic, and humanitarian crisis faced by Libya since 2011. The economic impact was already felt in 2019 as real GDP growth slowed sharply to 2.5%, down from what seemed a promising steady recovery during 201718, with a record growth performance of 20.8% on average. As military confrontations escalated, oil production decreased from 1.2 million bpd in December 2019 bpd to 0.1 million bpd in April 2020, choking the lifeline of the economy.

In the absence of significant improvements on the ground, the economic downturn will deepen. If the inability, or severely limited capacity, to produce and export oil might well prevail over the rest of 2020 despite the recent efforts to restart the production, Libya is expected to produce a daily average of only 0.17 million barrels in 2020, which is less than one seventh of last years production. As a result, GDP is expected to shrink by 41% this year. The adopted budget for 2020 partially reflects this dire situation, with a large forecasted deficit, the highest in recent years. Likewise, the current account is expected to run astronomic deficits in 2020. Consequently, reserves will be further declining this year.

Given the extreme volatility and unpredictability surrounding the determinants of economic trends, it is not sensible to produce forecasts beyond the immediate horizon.

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Libya's Economic Update October 2020

The recent economic recovery has been short-lived, stalled in early 2019 by the most serious political crisis facing Libya since 2011. The outbreak of the war around Tripoli in April 2019 prevented Libya from continuing its strong economic expansion. Indeed, after its deep recession over 2013-16, driven by limited oil production (0.6 million bpd in average vs. a potential of 1.6 million bpd), the Libyan economy was able to substantially increase oil production above one million bpd in average over 2017-2019. As a result, real GDP growth reached an average of 21% during 2017-18, but slowed down sharply to 2.5% in 2019, and is expected to be negative in 2020.

The ongoing fight around Tripoli and the subsequent failure of the political rivals to reach a sustained peace deal have taken a heavy toll on the economy, which the Covid-19 pandemic is further exacerbating. In this context, the production and export of oil has almost come to a stop since January 18, 2020, due to the closure of oil ports and terminals. Assuming the disruption stays for up to end April 2020, and oil production resumes slowly to reach last-years average production level by the end of the year, Libya would only produce a daily average of 0.67 million bpd this year (about half of last years). As a result, GDP growth will be negative in 2020 (minus 19.4%), but will rebound by 22.2% in 2021, before stabilizing around 1.4% thereafter.

Risks to the baseline forecast are unusually high and tilted to the downside. First, peace and stability seem illusive given the conflicting agendas of the foreign countries supporting the main parties involved in the fight for power and wealth, which would delay recovery and stability. The disruption of oil production and export may continue for a longer period with disastrous economic and social consequences. Second, the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 infection in Europe is disrupting both demand and supply of commodities. Libya may suffer from lower demand for oil, reducing Libyas income. It might also face lower supply of equipment and final consumption goods, which would disrupt further basic services delivery and increase the hardship of the population. Third, in case the spread of COVID-19 intensifies domestically, exacerbated by weak enforcement of social distancing and its high contagion among displaced people and migrants, it would be hard to address and contain the infection because of the decrepit health system.

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Libya's Economic Update April 2020 - World Bank