In February 2011, inspired by revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, Libyans began protesting against Colonel Gaddafi's 41-year rule. This precipitated the fall of the Gaddafi regime and led to the first elections in over 40 years.
The political transition to a stable and free democracy remains on track. The new President of the National Congress was elected in August and a new Prime Minister was elected in October 2012.
The UK has been at the forefront of providing technical assistance to support the Libyan authorities' efforts to build a stable, open and prosperous state that upholds the rule of law and human rights.
Arab Partnership Fund
In response to the Arab Spring the UK set up the Arab Partnership Programme, run jointly by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). The aim of the programme is to build politically and economically open and inclusive societies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The programme is made up of two components:
The £70 million Arab Partnership Economic Facility (APEF), run by DFID, focuses on ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic development.
APEF has five priority countries - Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan - and carries out both country-level and regional projects. Our programmes aim to promote:
- Job creation through assisting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and enhancing young people's skills
- Economic growth through increased cross-border trade and improved productivity
- Effective institutions that are transparent and accountable for government spending
The £40 million Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF), run by FCO, focuses on political participation, freedom of expression and political governance.
To find out more about the Arab Partnership, download the Arab Partnership ePamphlet. You can also explore our projects using an interactive google map or follow us on twitter @ArabPartnership.
Country-level projects
In Libya, APEF is supporting the following projects:
- Provision of technical capacity to build core economic management skills in the Libyan Ministry of Finance. This International Monetary Fund project will support the implementation of a public financial management action plan agreed with the Libyan government.
- A Revenue Watch project to provide training and expert policy advice to support the drafting of a new Libyan constitution that ensures a transparent oil and gas revenue management system. The project will also support civil society organizations to monitor revenue spending and hold government to account.
Regional programmes
As Libya is the only APEF focus country with huge natural resources, its economic situation is different from that of our other Partnership countries and it is not covered by some of our regional programmes. However, Libya will benefit from the following regional projects:
- £6.8 million to the World Bank/International Finance Corporation to increase access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) to benefit more than 250,000 enterprises
- Conflict Pool
The Conflict Pool brings together DFID, the MOD and the FCO in an attempt to develop a coherent approach to conflict prevention across the globe.
The Conflict Pool supports activities that seek to reduce the number of people around the world whose lives are, or might be, affected by violent conflict. The Pool funds conflict prevention, stabilisation and peacekeeping activities. There is a dedicated Middle East regional pool.
Conflict Pool resources allocated to Libya are focused on the following priorities:
- Security Sector Reform
- Defence Leadership Reform
- Judicial Sector Reform
- Reconciliation initiatives, particularly those which support civil society engagement in conflict resolution
- Support for Transitional Justice
- Support to the clearance and management of unexploded ordnance (UXO)
- Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of revolutionary fighters (DDR)
More information is available at the FCO Conflict Pool page.