Libya PM launches project to support couples to wed

Libya will provide financial support to young couples who wish to marry, interim Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, announced yesterday.

“I officially announce the launching of the electronic grant application service through which the administrative and financial procedures are completed within 24 hours,” Dbeibah said at a joint press conference with Youth Minister Fathallah Al-Zani and members of his cabinet.

The Libyan premier said the project offers young couples a grant at a value of 40,000 dinars (about $9,000) without any restrictions or conditions which should be used to cover marriage expenses.

Dbeibah first discussed the project on 12 August and said his cabinet had allocated one billion dinars ($222 million) as a “marriage grant”, in addition to 1.7 billion dinars ($377 million) in housing loans to help young people settle down and reduce the reluctance to marry.

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“Starting September, 50,000 young men and women will receive marriage grant support, provided that the young man submits proof of his willingness to marry,” he said at the time.

According to unofficial data, more than 35 per cent of Libyans who have reached marriage age cannot marry due to economic hardship and high unemployment.