The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), Al-Siddiq Al-Kabir, and his Deputy, Marai Muftah Rahil met with their Tunisian counterpart Marwan Al-Abbasi on Thursday. This marks the first formal meeting for Al-Kabir and Rahil, since the unification of the CBL.
The meeting was hosted by the Central Bank of Tunisia to strengthen “communication with regional and international parties” and was in the context of welcoming the unification of the CBL and supporting future cooperation between the institutions.
Libya announced the “return of the Central Bank as a unified sovereign institution” on 20 August, during a meeting held by Al-Kabir and Rahil with bank managers and advisors in Tripoli and Benghazi.
The move to unify the bank was widely applauded by Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, who described the unification as a “significant milestone in enhancing the performance of this important sovereign institution.” Meanwhile, Libya’s Presidential Council urged the bank to “address the impacts resulting from its prior divided state.”
The Libyan Parliament-designated government appreciated “the efforts made in supporting the unification of the bank, which will consequently handle the repercussions stemming from the split.” The Speaker of the Parliament, Ageela Saleh also stated that the unification came, “after sincere national efforts.”
The meeting aims to lay the groundwork for stronger economic and financial cooperation between Tunisia and Libya, as both nations look forward to mutually beneficial partnerships.
Last month, Al-Kabir, alongside Rahil, declared that the bank re-established itself as a unified sovereign entity.
The meeting represents the commitment to unify the CBL, and marks the culmination of endeavours made by national stakeholders supporting this unification.