The Libyan transitional council has surprisingly discovered US$23 billion worth of assets, unspent by Colonel Muammer Gaddafi’s regime, according to the Financial Times newspaper.
According to a senior British official,”these are internal assets found on the Central Bank of Libya balance sheet that should float them until well next year. It takes the pressure off them to get overseas assets unfrozen” He added,”such found wealth is the equivalent of discovering several billion dollars under the mattress” reported the British newspaper.
The find would come close to doubling domestic assets which have hitherto been estimated at US$25 billion.
The EU has decided to unblock Libya’s frozen assets, support activities in the oil and banking sectors, help the government build a civil government and lift sanctions on Libyan aerospace activities and arms-exporting. The EU said in a report released in Brussels, ”the EU has decided to take a variety of measures to help the Libyan economy rebound after the civil war and also help the UN mission in supporting this country”.
These new measures involve unfreezing assets owned by several Libyan firms working in the oil and banking sectors. Such measures will help the economy to recover. According to the same report, the Libyan Central Bank, Libyan Foreign Trade Bank, Libya Africa for Investment and two major oil companies will benefit from such measures. Earlier this month, the African Air assets were unblocked by the European Union.
The EU has permitted Libyan aircrafts to use the EU space and airports. EU officials affirm that allowing arms into Libya has become a necessity to establish security and continue security forces training. Moreover, some assets have been unfrozen and given to specific humanitarian organizations.
Charle Bouchard, commander of NATO’s operations in Libya, said that the decision taken by the EU according to international resolution (NO 2009) released on the 16th of September, aimed at easing international sanctions on Libya, is in line with NATO’s mission in the country. He pointed out that arming the new regime is of vital importance and that such actions go hand in hand with previous international resolutions vis-à-vis this country. (Source: www.yallafinance.com)
