The head of Libya's interim government of national unity, Abdulhamid Dabaiba, stressed on Wednesday, that a delay in implementing the gas agreement with Italy means that Libya will turn from a gas-exporting country to an importer by the year 2027.

Dabaiba's comments came at the second cabinet meeting of 2023.

He spoke about the urgent need to activate gas projects in Libya because official studies and international data confirm that the delay will cause a decrease in Libya's ability to produce gas.

Dabaiba concluded by saying that the signing of the gas agreement with the Italian company, Eni, came after marathon negotiations and that it was a reactivation of an agreement previously signed in 2008.