Aden, Yemen–Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik affirmed that the economic support Saudi Arabia provides to Yemen represents a vital factor for achieving progress in various service and development sectors.
During a cabinet meeting today in Aden, Abdulmalik pointed out that the kingdom’s economic support backs the efforts of the Yemeni government in alleviating human suffering, improving services, and achieving economic and living stability, according to the official Yemeni News Agency (Saba).
With this tranche of support, the Yemeni prime minister added, the Kingdom renewed generous giving and historical commitment to the Yemeni people.
The cabinet also stressed the Yemeni government’s commitment to strictly implement the provisions of the budget support agreement, according to the prepared mechanisms, and its continuous implementation of comprehensive reforms, indicating its aspiration for regional and international support for these measures.
Early this month, Saudi Arabia approved a $1.2 billion grant to Yemen’s internationally recognized government, two officials told AFP on Tuesday, the latest attempt to prop up the war-scarred country’s flagging economy.
Yemen’s finance minister and central bank governor as well as the Saudi ambassador were expected to disclose details of the grant at a signing ceremony in Riyadh.
Since 2015, Riyadh has led an international coalition backing the Aden-based government in its war against Houthi rebels, who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014.
Fighting has dropped off sharply since a UN-brokered truce took effect in April last year, even though it lapsed in October.
However more than two-thirds of Yemenis depend on aid to survive amid a grinding economic crisis marked by a collapsed currency and import bans.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said in June that “economic warfare” between the opposing parties had compounded the country’s problems.