Libya’s rival parliaments sign joint program to streamline development spending

Representatives from Libya’s two competing legislative bodies signed an agreement on Tuesday, November 18, for a unified development program, according to the Central Bank of Libya.

The move aims to harmonize financial governance after more than a decade of divided budgets between eastern and western Administrations.

Although specific details were not disclosed, the Bank said the framework is designed to consolidate spending channels and ensure transparent allocation of funds for development projects, describing it as a necessary measure to safeguard economy from future shocks.

The deal brings together the eastern-based House of Representatives in Benghazi and the western-based High State Council in Tripoli, where the UN-recognized Government of National Unity has been operating since its installation in 2021.

Libya, an important oil-producing country, has long been locked in a struggle over control of its vast resource revenues. The agreement signals a modest step towards financial reunification, drawing on institutions established through political processes dating back to elections in 2012 and 2014 and the UN-backed arrangements that followed the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi.