On the Central Bank of Libya and its divisions: An interview with Ali Hebri

  • Electronic payment is part of our top priorities
  • The only obstacle to unification is the Tripoli-based Governor of the Central Bank of Libya
  • The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli is supported by both the Presidential Council and the High Council of State

Many economists agree on the fact that the banking sector in Libya has yet to improve. The level of the Libyan banking sector is very low compared to what prevails in most countries of the world.

Looking at the reasons for such bad performance, observers tend to think that political divisions are the reason number one for this situation, along with the absence of an efficient legal framework.

To understand better where things stand, Stractegia had this exclusive interview in Benghazi with Ali Hebri, the eastern-based governor of the Central Bank of Libya. Hebri was attending the “Second meeting for the development of the banking sector in Libya”.

 

Stractegia- Governor Ali Hebri, first of all, what can you tell us about this “Second meeting for the development of the banking sector in Libya”?

Ali Hebri- This is the second official meeting that aims at helping Libya reform its banking sector and operate a transition towards modernity. The first meeting was organized in Tunisia last year, where a great number of Libyan and non-Libyan specialists of the banking sector talked about what Libya was going through. We thought that it was important that the second edition of this meeting be organized in Libya; our choice fell on Benghazi, and the fact is that the number of participants as well as the level of the debates prove how successful this initiative is.

I remember that last year, many high-level speakers participated to the meeting in Tunis; among them were very good specialists of the Libyan banking sector as well as key representatives of the Government of National Accord (GNA), such as the Minister of Planification, Dr Taher al-Juhaymi. The very interesting discussions and debates that they had altogether were part of the reasons why we thought it was important to organize a follow-up edition of this meeting in Libya directly. It is important that Libyans with different backgrounds have an opportunity to talk about the realities and the challenges of the banking sector.

Stractegia- What are the main topics that participants to this second edition are currently discussing?

Ali Hebri- There are two main topics: the first one is related to electronic payments and how people could make use of credit cards and phone services for their transactions. This field needs companies to be willing to act as financial intermediaries; that way, they could help reducing the consequences for the current liquidity crisis by being an interface between consumers and sellers. The way ahead to achieving that is part of the discussions between participants to this meeting.

Second, how can we get banks to support projects that aim at fostering economic development in Libya, be it at the financial, the logistical or the technical level? This topic has also generated very interesting discussions, and the fact is that some participants to this meeting have already committed to concrete and binding steps and decisions.

Stractegia- What can you tell us about the obstacles that still stand against the unification of the Central Bank of Libya?

Ali Hebri- There is only one obstacle to the unification of the Central Bank of Libya: it is Sadiq al-Kabir. The House of Representatives has dismissed him and replaced him with Mohammed Shukri, a highly-qualified person who originates from Western Libya; if Shukri was confirmed officially as the new Tripoli-based governor of the Central Bank of Libya, this would put an end to divisions.

That said, I prefer not to expand on this topic since what I really care about is seeing the prospects for having a unified banking sector.

Stractegia- But what are the reasons that are getting Sadiq al-Kabir to put obstacles to unification?

Ali Hebri- I don’t know what the reasons are. All I know is that al-Kabir’s presence in Western Libya and his proximity to actors involved directly in the Libyan conflict are making things harder.

Talking about possible solutions, some key institutions are meant to have a positive contribution there: the Presidential Council, the High Council of State, and even the Libyan Banks Association. Libya’s interest should be above anything else.

Stractegia- Are there any countries that favor one of the actors at the expense of the other?

Ali Hebri- There are no examples of this. All what we hear about this is nonsense. The reality is that the Tripoli-based governor of the Central Bank of Libya is backed by two main actors: the Presidential Council and the High Council of State.

Stractegia- What can you tell us about the Tunis meeting that was organized recently with the objective of unifying the Central Bank of Libya?

Ali Hebri- The two central banks participated to the Tunis meeting, but they did not discuss anything related to unification. The talks only touched upon one thing: determining the office that will be responsible for overviewing both the activity and the spending of the two central banks. Add to this that the eastern-based Central Bank of Libya decided to create an ad hoc committee that will be responsible for drafting financial reports.  This committee will give its recommendations taking into account international standards, and it will also work on having closer relations with the Tripoli-based Central Bank of Libya, ahead of a unification in the future.

Interview conducted by Mohammed Sreit

Between Khashoggi and Bin Salman, France favors its interests (French)

Le fait pour la « patrie des droits de l’homme » de ne pas s’être dissociée du prince héritier saoudien malgré les suspicions pesant à son encontre dans l’affaire Khashoggi n’a rien d’extraordinaire : la France est un acteur pragmatique qui cherche à protéger sa relation avec Ryad.

Le « cas Khashoggi » a prouvé que la France pouvait difficilement se désolidariser de l’Arabie saoudite. Les raisons à cela sont claires, et elles passent en partie par les questions liées au marché de la défense.

Les pays européens fournissent aujourd’hui à l’Arabie saoudite 60 % de son armement ; entre 2001 et 2015, ils ont exporté pour 57 milliards d’armement vers le royaume, selon des chiffres du SIPRI cités par Le Monde.

De son côté, le ministère français des armées rappelait dans un rapport au Parlement sur les exportations d’armement publié en juillet 2018, qu’entre 2008 et 2017, l’Arabie saoudite avait passé commande à la France pour un total de 11,130 milliards d’euros. Soit une moyenne de plus de 1 milliard d’euros par an, qui explique en large partie pourquoi la France tient à ne pas se mettre à dos son partenaire saoudien.

Ces éléments ne peuvent cependant faire fi du poids important de l’Arabie saoudite sur les plans politique et stratégique. En Syrie hier, au Liban et au Yémen aujourd’hui, sans oublier les évolutions liées à l’Irak, à l’Iran, ou encore ce qui se dit sur une volonté saoudienne d’aller plus avant dans un rapprochement avec Israël… Riyad compte pour beaucoup dans les évolutions du monde arabe. Lui tourner le dos, c’est renoncer à une porte d’accès sur une région qui reste d’un intérêt stratégique majeur, si l’on en croit notamment la rivalité américano-russe qui continue à y prévaloir.

Keep reading : https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinions/khashoggi-france-arabie-saoudite-351515297

On the Libyan Crisis: Exclusive Interview with Aguila Saleh

We publish this exclusive interview with Aguila Saleh, president of the Libyan Chamber of Representatives. Mr Saleh agreed to an interview with Stractegia to tell us more about the most important current affairs in Libya. The original version of this interview is in Arabic, and you can read it by clicking here: http://stractegia.com/fr/archivos/2662. What follows is a summary of the main points that have been stressed by Aguila Saleh in this interview.

Firstly, Aguila Saleh tells us that the Chamber of Representatives is a legislative body that deals with many issues, particularly important: such as leading mediations between tribes, and serving as a facilitator and a convener for the different actors of the Libyan society to get closer and work together. In addition, Aguila Saleh says that the Chamber of Representatives tries to fulfill the expectations of Libyans to separation of powers and the application of laws by independent courts. According to Saleh, Libyan revolutionaries’ wishes happen to coincide with these notions as well.

The President of the Chamber of Representatives considers that the only way ahead for benefitting from a state with strong institutions comes through the adoption of precise legal and constitutional bases. Saleh considers that the fact that the Chamber of Representatives was late in adopting the Law on the Constitutional referendum was not only due to disagreements between deputies; the rejection by the representatives of the province of Cyrenaica of both the Constitution and the Law on the referendum also had an important impact. These representatives fear that the fact that the inhabitants of the province of Tripolitania outnumber the people of Cyrenaica would have a negative impact when it comes to their rights and their representation.

Aguila Saleh also reminds us of the fact that an agreement had been reached over the division of Libya in three electoral districts: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and the Fezzan. That being said, disagreements continued among deputies, and this led to 130 deputies out of 210 to vote in favor of organizing a special session to discuss about the Constitution and the referendum Law.

Saleh refers to how certain national and foreign actors are actors undermining the process because of their favoring the Libyan status quo. Additionally, Saleh justifies his rejection, about two years ago, to Prime minister Fayez Sarraj and his government, since he considered, at that time, that neither Sarraj nor his ministers were fit for governing Libya, at a time where the country was undergoing huge difficulties. Saleh adds that, from what he sees, events proved him to be right.

Regarding the sanctions that the European Union has adopted against him, the President of the Chamber of Representatives argues that they are not justified at all; he believes that they have no legal basis and that they are only meant to punish him for not having recognized Fayez Sarraj and his government.

Aguila Saleh sees that the Government of National Accord is the main responsible for the events that have occurred lately in Tripoli. He considers that the Government was wrong in giving legitimacy to the armed militias that are based in Tripoli and using them to protect itself,while it should have disarmed them.

Finally, Saleh says that he is always happy to work with his adversaries. But when asked why he refuses meeting with the head of the High Council of State, Khalid Mishri, the President of the Chamber of Representatives justifies his stance referring to legal considerations. Aguila Saleh considers that, since the Chamber of Representatives has not accepted, so far, the Libyan Political Agreement, this implies that the President of the Parliament cannot meet with somebody that claims to have a title that the Chamber of Representatives does not legally recognize.

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