The National Council on U.S.-Libyan Relations concluded a pivotal two-day event (4-5 April) in Washington DC that brought together leading Libyan and U.S. experts to discuss the political, economic, and security challenges facing Libya and propose ways forward.
In partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce in Libya, the first day focused on economic cooperation, bringing together Libyan and U.S. business leaders to explore ways to expand trade and investment, and reform the health sector.
On the second day, the National Council on U.S.-Libya Relations held its seventh annual conference, a high-level dialogue that addressed Libya’s political divisions, institutional stalemate, and growing instability.
The event brought together prominent political figures from across Libya, including Khaled Al-Meshri, President of the High Council of State, and Moussa Al-Koni, Vice President of the Presidential Council. Although Aguila Saleh, the speaker of the House of Representatives, accepted our invitation, he did not attend.
Al-Mishri and Al-Koni joined more than 20 international and international speakers and experts from across Libya, who participated in frank and dynamic discussion sessions, as well as an open dialogue with the public through questions and answers, resulting in valuable insights to break the political deadlock.
The discussions highlighted the serious divisions that threaten Libya’s unity and institutions, including the Central Bank and the National Oil Corporation, as well as the issues of illegal migration, smuggling, and the failure of political processes. They underlined how the split between the two Libyan governments is hampering central bank governance, with uncontrolled spending on both sides threatening economic collapse and further currency depreciation.
Among the proposed solutions is a proposal to move to a federal system, with separate presidential and parliamentary elections in Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan, as a possible path out of the current stalemate.
The conference issued urgent and concrete recommendations to break the dangerous stalemate in Libya and push the polarized parties towards an imminent breakthrough. Among the repeated words were: “Libya cannot be divided, and it must not be divided.”
