The Tripoli based Libyan Minister of Economy and Trade, Suhail Abu Shiha, said that since assuming responsibility for the Ministry, the Prime Minister's first directive was that the citizen be the focus of the Ministry's work, and that the emphasis be placed on alleviating the burdens of living and improving the standard of living, while providing the necessary resources to achieve these goals.
Abu Shiha was speaking during the Tripoli Government Communication Conference held in Tripoli yesterday. The event brought together journalists, media professionals and public officials which the government says ains to discuss the future of government communication in Libya.
Continuing, Abu Shiha said the purpose of this presentation is to clarify how fiscal and monetary policies and market rules affect the daily lives of citizens, and how distortions in these policies are reflected in prices, competition, and the availability of goods in the markets.
He said the Ministry does not seek direct intervention in the market, but rather works to enable it to perform its role properly, in a way that serves the interests of the citizen, the state, and the merchant simultaneously, and ensures an economic environment based on fair competition.
The Minister said that in a normal economic situation, the general budget is balanced between revenues and expenditures, while the Central Bank of Libya manages monetary policy by setting the exchange rate and interest rates, which positively impacts prices and the availability of goods and services.
He said during 2021 and 2022, the stability of financial and monetary conditions contributed to a decrease in price pressures, improved competition, and a reduction in the volume of credit, which had a positive impact on the markets.
Abu Shiha said what Libya witnessed at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025—a decline in competition, rising prices, and a drop in the quality of some goods—is due to imbalances that affected the economic equilibrium and cast a shadow on the citizen's livelihood.
He said although revenues covered expenditures, the problem lay in what is known as money creation, or injecting additional liquidity into the economy outside of traditional frameworks, which led to an increase in the money supply.
Creating money without coordination between fiscal and monetary policies, he explained, directly impacts the citizen's purchasing power, as it leads to higher prices and a decline in the real value of money and savings.
Increasing the money supply without corresponding production or real resources leads to widespread economic distortions and affects market efficiency and its ability to achieve a balance between supply and demand, he added.
Abu Shiha said one consequence of these distortions is that the exchange rate no longer fully reflects its true value, leading to increased pressure on markets and prices and directly impacting citizens' lives.
Finally, Abu Shiha said the ministry is working on developing and implementing a plan to regulate the market and reduce economic distortions, ensuring enhanced competition, the availability of goods, economic stability, and an improved standard of living for citizens.