By Muetaz Wannes and Betul Yilmaz
TRIPOLI, Libya / ISTANBUL (AA) – Libyan authorities formed a new body on Thursday to unify decision-making in the country.
The Supreme Council of Presidencies “is part of a joint national approach aimed at unifying national decision-making on strategic files and enhancing institutional cohesion among the authorities,” reads a joint statement by the Libyan Presidency Council, the Government of National Unity, and the High Council of State.
The new body was launched following a high-level meeting in Tripoli between Presidency Council Chairman Mohamed al-Menfi, Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, and chief of the High Council of State, Mohamed Takala.
The new body is tasked with “developing a unified methodology for Libyan national decision-making and coordinating official positions on political, economic, and security issues,” the statement said.
It will also work on “formulating joint policies that preserve Libya’s sovereignty, territorial unity, and political, social, and economic stability without creating any additional entity or structural burdens.”
Signatories emphasized that the new body comes in response to “the requirements of the current stage and reflects a commitment to overcoming divisions and acting in the spirit of national responsibility.”
They called on “other sovereign institutions to join this coordinating path in a way that enhances stability, safeguards the higher interests of the Libyan state, and contributes to building a strong, unified state capable of protecting its sovereignty and the resources of its people.”
There was no immediate comment from East Libya-based House of Representatives (parliament) on the statement.
Libya remains split between two administrations: a government appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022 and based in Benghazi, led by
Osama Hammad, which controls the east and much of the south; and the internationally recognized Government of National Unity, led by Abdelhamid Dbeibah in Tripoli, which runs the west.