Libya’s polarised politics is perilously close to a return to the deeply divided and violent state that characterised its post-2014 civil war years as rival governments look to the UK for support while world leaders continue to push for elections.
Fathi Bashagha, the prime minister appointed in February by the House of Representatives in Benghazi, told UK parliamentarians this week that they should support him and that Britain would benefit from better security, trade and investment opportunities in Libya under his rule.
Speaking via videoconference from the war-ravaged coastal city of Sirte, Mr Bashagha told the foreign affairs committee chaired by Conservative leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat that Libya had become “lawless” under the control of militias supporting the United Nations-backed Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah in Tripoli.
Mr Bashagha’s dialogue followed visits to the UK last month where he met some British ministers, including the education minister, Nadhim Zahawi, who is now UK chancellor but not Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
The former interior minister has been trying to drum up support for his government to take over Tripoli.
Backed by the forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar, Mr Bashagha has tried to seize power in the capital several times this year only to be pushed back by armed supporters of Mr Dbeibah. He has not been deterred however, saying this week that he was “days away” from entering the Libyan capital.
The UN, the UK and several EU states have urged Libya’s political leaders to resolve the question of authority through elections, which were scheduled for December but then cancelled amid controversy over some of the names on the ballot papers.
Not directly commenting on Mr Bashagha's comments to the MPs, Mr Dbeibah’s diplomat in London told The National the country going to the polls was the way “to get out of the current situation in Libya”.
“Everyone, including our British friends, knows that the solution lies in holding free and fair elections as soon as possible to renew the legitimacy of all bodies,” wrote Libya’s ambassador to the UK in an email.
Ambassador Salah Mrheel said the internationally recognised government of national unity “is calling for and working on” elections and urged the UK to “help and support” them achieve this.
However, critics say Mr Dbeibah’s administration has already failed to deliver its mandate. One of the reasons the December elections were called off was because of controversy over who would stand, including the interim prime minister who had backtracked on earlier promises not to put himself forward as a candidate.
Widespread corruption in the Tripoli administration is increasingly putting off Libyans and international leaders. Then again, Mr Bashagha’s affiliation to Gen Haftar, who lost the war he waged against the internationally recognised government and has been repeatedly accused of war crimes, is no more appealing.
Western powers may find themselves confronted with less of an obvious choice on who to support as violence and corruption re-emerge across the political divide.
The UK has largely chosen not to take sides between them and continues to “urge Libyan political leaders to engage constructively in negotiations” and “to unlock the executive impasse and agree on a pathway to elections”.
Nevertheless, the Russia-Ukraine war, food insecurity and the oil supply threat might yet change the direction and weight of support.
Britain’s ambassador to Libya in 2019, Frank Baker, previously endorsed Mr Bashagha on the basis that oil “alone should serve as a big incentive to improve the situation in Libya” which had become “significantly more important to the UK” since events in Ukraine.
Mr Bashagha’s speech to parliamentarians on Tuesday gave other reasons for the UK to “strengthen co-operation” between them, including investment, trade and stemming migration into Europe.
Balancing the power with Russia, whose involvement in Libya’s east has included the supply of weapons as well as members of the mercenary Wagner Group connected to them, is another motive.
Mr Bashagha said his government supported removing “foreign forces and mercenaries altogether” from Libya.
“We want foreigners to come to help with companies, reconstruction, and investment not forces,” Mr Bashagha told the foreign affairs committee.
“[We] want to work with the UK but we feel unwelcome. On the other hand, Russia accepted our government and wanted to meet with us,” Mr Bashagha told the foreign affairs committee.
“Even though its stability is not only important for Libyans but for all of North Africa and southern Europe ... the British government does not look interested in Libya at the moment.”
However, as a foreign affairs committee member noted at the end of Mr Bashagha’s presentation, the UK government is changing and any one of the current candidates may shift gears and alliances on Libya, or decide it is best to keep Britain standing safely on the sidelines.
RESULTS
6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Lady Snazz, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
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Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
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Winner: Rich And Famous, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Rio Angie, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson.
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Winner: Firnas, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
CREW
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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The Cairo Statement
1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations
2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred
3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC
4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.
5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.
6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
