The national unity government, headed by Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, held its first meeting in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, since it gained the confidence of the House of Representatives on the tenth of this month, while the UN envoy to Libya Jan Kubis stressed the importance of the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libya.

The National Unity Government is awaiting the comments of the Supreme State Council tomorrow, Thursday, on the draft general budget bill, which exceeds 96 billion Libyan dinars.

Before referring the bill to Parliament during its scheduled session next Monday in Tripoli.

Yesterday, Tuesday, a delegation representing the National Unity Government headed by Dabaiba arrived in Benghazi to complete the handover process of what is known as the Interim Government headed by Abdullah Al-Thinni.

For years, Libya was suffering from a split in its institutions before the Dabaiba government assumed its duties on the tenth of this March, as there was an internationally recognized legitimate government based in the capital, Tripoli, and another in the east headed by Al-Thinni.

On the fifth of last February, the Forum for Political Dialogue - under the auspices of the United Nations - elected a unified executive authority, which includes a government headed by Abd al-Hamid al-Dabaiba, and a presidential council headed by Muhammad al-Manfi.

To lead the country to the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for December 24th.

Libyans hope that the unified authority will contribute to ending years of armed conflict, as a result of the struggle of the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, the internationally recognized government, over legitimacy and authority in the oil-rich country.

Session and updates

In conjunction with these developments, the UN Security Council started a remote session during which it heard a briefing from the international envoy to Libya, which dealt with the latest political and field developments in Libya.

It is the first session of the Council after the election of the new authority in Libya.

In this session, the UN envoy to Libya stressed the need to assist and encourage the new executive authority in Libya, noting that there is broad and strong support for holding comprehensive elections on December 24th.

According to Kubis, there must be a clear legal and constitutional framework for the presidential and parliamentary elections, indicating that the emerging political will in Libya came as a result of the dialogue between the Libyans.

The UN envoy also reaffirmed the importance of the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libya.

Dabaiba met yesterday with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Libya.

Kubis assured the Libyan Prime Minister that the international community is unanimous in supporting the Dabaiba government to face the economic, humanitarian, security, human rights and development challenges in the country.

Kubish briefed Dabaiba on the results of his visits to many European and regional capitals, in addition to his communication with a number of parties concerned with the Libyan affairs, internationally and regionally.

The UN envoy to Libya stressed in a session of the Security Council the need to help the new executive authority in Libya (Al-Jazeera)

Deep concern

For his part, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, in a report delivered to the Security Council, expressed his "deep concern" about "reports about the continued presence of foreign elements in Sirte and its surroundings and central Libya."

The French Press Agency obtained the document, which is expected to be discussed by members of the Security Council on Wednesday, and it reveals a slight move to withdraw some mercenaries, which it considers insufficient.

The document indicates that foreign forces were withdrawn from the city center and west of Sirte towards Wadi Harawa, 50 km east of Sirte, to contribute to securing the city and reopening Al-Gardabiya airport.

In his report, however, Guterres expressed his regret that "no reduction in the number of foreign forces or their activities in central Libya has been reported."

Last December, the United Nations estimated the number of foreign military and mercenaries in Libya at 20,000.

"I reiterate my call to all national, regional and international actors to respect the provisions of the ceasefire agreement in order to ensure its full implementation without delay, and this includes full and unconditional compliance with the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations," the Secretary-General said.

And many previous UN reports spoke of Russian, Chadian, Sudanese and Syrian mercenaries in Libya, in addition to Turkish army units.

In his report, Guterres details his proposal for the gradual deployment of a mission monitoring the ceasefire and the departure of mercenaries and foreign forces.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi intends to visit Libya early next month in support of the new national unity government (Reuters)

Visit and support

In related developments, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday that he intends to visit Libya in early April in support of the new national unity government.

Draghi's visit will be the first by a senior European official since the Dabaiba government was sworn in on March 15, and the first foreign visit to Draghi since he took office last month.

Draghi told his country's parliament that Italy's policy is "to support the national unity government in Libya with the aim of reaching elections at the beginning of December."

He continued, "At the present time it is necessary to respect the ceasefire, and there seem to be encouraging developments in this regard, meaning that mercenary and non-mercenary parties have begun to leave the country."

"I personally will visit Libya on the sixth or seventh of April, however, in the first week of next month," he added.

Draghi's announcement comes after the visit of Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio to Tripoli on Sunday.

After years of stalemate in a country divided into two camps: one in the East and the other in the West;

Dabaiba, 61, was appointed Prime Minister alongside the Presidency Council on February 5 by 75 Libyan officials from all sides, who met in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations.

The national unity government - which consists of two vice presidents, 26 ministers and 6 state ministers - won the confidence of the Libyan Parliament on the tenth of this month.