Libyan Rivals Pledge to Support Tunis Dialogue

Meeting between representatives of Libya’s east-based parliament and High Council of State, attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (Morocco’s Foreign Ministry)
Meeting between representatives of Libya’s east-based parliament and High Council of State, attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (Morocco’s Foreign Ministry)
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Libyan Rivals Pledge to Support Tunis Dialogue

Meeting between representatives of Libya’s east-based parliament and High Council of State, attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (Morocco’s Foreign Ministry)
Meeting between representatives of Libya’s east-based parliament and High Council of State, attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (Morocco’s Foreign Ministry)

Representatives of the east-based parliament and High Council of State held this week a two-day meeting in Morocco that was attended by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

The lawmakers met in the coastal town of Bouznika, south of Morocco’s capital Rabat, for talks that come ahead of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) scheduled in Tunisia on November 9.

MP Essam al-Jihani, who attended Wednesday's talks, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the conferees agreed for the United Nations Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL) not to sidestep the legitimate bodies, especially in the decision-making mechanism.

Talks resulted in “comprehensive understandings” on the mechanisms and criteria for filling so-called sovereign positions in Libya in line with Article 15 of the Skhirat Agreement of December 2015.

The posts include the Central Bank governor, heads of the Audit Bureau, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), the Administrative Control Authority and the head of the Supreme Court, as well as chairperson and members of the High National Electoral Commission (HNEC), the Libyan Investment Authority and the National Oil Corporation.

In a joint press statement on Thursday, the conferees stressed the significance of political dialogue and willingness to support its course and enhance its chances of success.

They highlighted the importance of both parties to the dialogue assuming responsibility in maintaining the democratic path and preventing any foreign intervention in the political process.

Bourita said talks have created a positive dynamic and optimism on reaching a solution to the Libyan crisis.

On Monday, Tunis is scheduled to receive around 74 Libyan figures from across the political spectrum to participate in the UN-mediated LPDF.

The forum aims to set a date for holding general elections in the war-torn country, according to UN acting envoy to Libya Stephanie Williams, who expressed hope that “the political class will rise to the same level of national responsibility that we saw in the members of the Joint Military Committee.”

Rival Libyan military officers agreed last week on a roadmap for implementing a ceasefire deal reached in October.



Lebanon Former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh Arrested

Lebanon's Former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks with AFP in an interview at his Beirut office. (AFP)
Lebanon's Former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks with AFP in an interview at his Beirut office. (AFP)
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Lebanon Former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh Arrested

Lebanon's Former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks with AFP in an interview at his Beirut office. (AFP)
Lebanon's Former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks with AFP in an interview at his Beirut office. (AFP)

Lebanon's former central bank governor, Riad Salameh, was arrested on Tuesday during a judicial hearing in the capital Beirut, a senior judicial source told Reuters.

Salameh has been charged with financial crimes including money-laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. He denies all wrongdoing.

Salameh was Lebanon's central bank governor for 30 years until July 2023. In his final months as governor, Germany issued an arrest warrant for him on corruption charges.

He is being investigated in Lebanon and at least five European countries for allegedly taking hundreds of millions of dollars from Lebanon's central bank to the detriment of the Lebanese state and laundering the funds abroad.

 The CEO of Lebanon's Optimum Invest said the firm had not been present at Tuesday's hearing over its dealings with  Salameh.

Reine Abboud told Reuters the firm had heard of the arrest through the media, and said it had carried out a financial audit earlier this year of its interactions with the central bank that found no evidence of wrongdoing by the firm.