Agreement to Open Letters of Credit in Official Exchange Rate.

Tripoli, 10 March 2016(Lana) The member of the General National Congress, Ismael Al Ayeb has said an agreement has been struck by the National Salvation Government, the Central bank of Libya and the Audit Office, to inject 2 billion into foreign imports in the official exchange rate. There was an agreement with the Central Bank of Libya to open letters of credit in the official rate, Al Ayeb said, noting that the Bank is the body responsible for the monetary policy in the country. The National Salvation Government on March 2 has called on the Central Bank of Libya, to endorse the exchange rate, which could ensure monetary stability of the market, provide foreign currency for trade and personal needs, and end black market. The Government pointed out, in a letter to the CBL, to the recommendations made by the ad hoc committee selected by virtue of the Decision No (205) of 2015, on participation of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy through the custom authority in the letter of credit procedures. The Government said it did not object to opening letters of credit expeditiously, to provide the local market with the needed goods and services, without negatively impacting the livelihoods of the citizens, and to consider spending in case of a new foreign exchange rate that's near to the current black market rate was considered. The Government stressed the need for the difference between the old and the new exchange rates to be deposited to the public treasury account, to be used as a temporary subsidy in prices hikes, provided that the CBL works out a gradual decrease of the rate in line with the state of the economy. The CBL has a duty, in case it decides to keep the current exchange rate in opening letters of credit for personal and commercial purposes, to ensure that it is able to meet the volume of demand in a way that does not maintain the parallel market, and to safeguard the country's money reserves in the long run. =Lana=