Senior officials at the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held a virtual meeting on Wednesday to discuss the economic situation in Libya, according to a statement by the central bank.
Saddek el-Kaber, CBL Governor, and Dmitry Gershenson, a senior IMF economist, discussed activating the role of the annual consultation mission team within the framework of IMF Article 4.
The two also reviewed of economic and financial developments in recent years, and Gershenson was briefed on “the steps and measures taken by CBL to maintain the financial sustainability of the state,” said the bank.
El-Kaber and Gershenson agreed on the “importance of holding periodic meetings and resuming annual consultations with all Libyan institutions at the end of 2021 to assess the financial and economic situation in Libya.”
Sources told The Libya Update that Richard Norland, the U.S. Ambassador and Special Envoy to Libya, pitched the idea of involving the IMF in Libya’s domestic financial affairs before the upcoming general elections.
According to the sources, Norland wants to address the financial debt accrued by commercial banks based in Libya’s eastern region by involving the IMF in the process of vetting the debt, as well as involving the international institution in the reunification of the CBL.
(Exclusive) US envoy calls for involving IMF in Libya’s financial issues ahead of elections