Libya has approved its first unified national budget in more than 13 years after a United States mediated agreement between rival eastern and western political blocs.
The Central Bank of Libya announced on Saturday that representatives of the Benghazi based House of Representatives and the Tripoli based High Council of State had signed a deal to harmonise public spending across the divided country.
The bank described the move as real progress towards unifying fiscal policy and improving the management of state finances, calling it the first consensus on a single spending framework since before the 2011 uprising.
Libya has struggled with political fragmentation and conflict since the fall of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi during the Arab Spring. Power remains split between a UN recognised government in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah and an eastern administration backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
The new budget agreement was signed by Issa Al Arebi for the eastern based parliament and Abdul Jalil Al Shawish for the Tripoli based High Council of State.
Despite earning 22 billion dollars in oil revenue last year, up more than 15 percent from the previous year, Libya still faces a foreign currency deficit of 9 billion dollars, according to the central bank.
In January, the bank devalued the Libyan dinar by nearly 15 percent for the second time in less than a year, blaming the move on the absence of a unified budget and other structural problems.
The bank said the new agreement should help strengthen financial stability and praised what it called the positive role of the United States in supporting mediation between the rival Libyan institutions.
Prime Minister Dbeibah thanked Trump’s senior adviser on Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, for backing the talks that led to the deal.
He said the budget breakthrough was a hopeful step but warned that the real test would be the genuine commitment of all parties to translate it into visible improvements in the daily lives of Libyan citizens.
Libya holds Africa’s largest proven oil reserves at around 48.4 billion barrels and currently produces about 1.5 million barrels per day, with plans to raise output to 2 million barrels per day.
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