TRIPOLI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday warned that weak economic governance, political interference, and illicit activities, including fuel smuggling and money laundering, continue to divert billions of U.S. dollars away from the interests of the Libyan people and undermine the country's economic and financial stability.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) held an expanded meeting of the Berlin Process Economic Working Group in Tripoli to discuss the country's pressing economic and financial challenges and ways to coordinate support for institution-led reforms.
Hanna Tetteh, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya and head of UNSMIL, said in her opening remarks that despite favorable energy prices in 2026, Libya continues to face mounting economic pressures, including rising public spending, depreciation of the Libyan dinar, and declining purchasing power, with ordinary citizens bearing the heaviest burden.
She stressed the close link between economic governance and Libya's broader political process, calling for concrete and coordinated measures to strengthen institutional accountability, safeguard public resources, and ensure that the country's national wealth benefits all Libyans.
The meeting was co-chaired by Egypt, the United States, the European Union and UNSMIL. It was also attended by representatives from Algeria, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Spain, Türkiye, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Britain, as well as representatives of the Arab League and the African Union. ■