Libya: Economic recovery at the heart of ES talks with Libyan ministers

Marrakech, 27 March 2019 (ECA) – ECA Executive Secretary Vera Songwe met on Tuesday 26 March in Marrakech the Libyan Minister of Economy and Industry Ali Al-Issaoui and Minister of Finance Faraj Abdourahman Bumatari.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 52nd ECA Session and Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and was an opportunity to discuss ECA support to the Libyan economy.

Several options were considered, including the building of a macroeconomic model to guide policies, through a prospective analysis based on the current state of the Libyan economy, the global economy and evolution forecasts. This model, which aims to support decision-making at the strategic level, requires the building of reliable and transparent data collection systems, an area in which ECA can also support both ministries through capacity building and national data analysis.

In this context, it has been acknowledged that digitization can promote better governance and more efficient budgetary and tax policies. Minister Al-Issaoui called on ECA to visit Libya in order to assess the situation and make recommendations for an optimal integration of information systems.

Songwe and Al-Issaoui discussed capacity building for Libyan officials for better economic planning and modeling and the impact of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)by developing specific training programs in close collaboration with IDEP.

Libya also expressed the wish to participate more actively in ECA programs and projects, to accelerate its economic development and structural transformation. Finally, in order to respond to Libya's development priorities, the delegation requested ECA to support the economic diversification process for a better regional integration in sub-regional and continental value chains.