On 13 January, UN Envoy, Ghassan Salame, travelled to southern Libya for meetings with local officials and dignitaries in his first visit to the region since his appointment in June 2018. While there, the envoy called for alternative state institutions after describing those in place as substandard and riddled with internal disputes, commenting that the current ones are unable to govern effectively.
On 13 January, Head of the Government of National Accord Fayez al-Serraj ordered the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pull Libya from the Arab Economic Summit. Libyan businessmen have also reportedly been denied visas to attend sideline meetings at the summit.