Saudi Arabia’s latest support measures for Yemen have been welcomed by the country’s leadership after Riyadh announced a new budget support payment and extended the Masam Project for landmine clearance for another year. The parallel initiatives aim to ease Yemen’s economic and humanitarian challenges.
Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the council, the government, and the Yemeni people to King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman for directing the release of a new tranche of financial assistance for the state’s general budget.
The announcement was made by Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jaber, who also serves as general supervisor of the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen.
He said the Saudi leadership had approved a new payment of more than SAR 224 million ($60 million) to help finance the Yemeni government’s budget deficit and cover public-sector salaries.
Al Jaber said the funding would support government cash flows, provide foreign-currency liquidity, help stabilize the Yemeni rial, and strengthen the government’s ability to maintain essential services and improve living conditions.
Yemeni officials say Saudi budget support has played a critical role in recent years by helping the government meet key financial obligations, particularly public-sector wages and basic services, at a time of declining state revenues and the continuing impact of war.
The assistance is also viewed as an important tool for easing pressure on the national currency and enabling state institutions to continue operating in government-controlled areas despite persistent economic challenges.
Alongside the financial announcement, Al-Alimi welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to extend the Masam Project for clearing mines from Yemeni territory for an additional year.
He described the initiative as one of the most significant humanitarian programs protecting civilians from mines planted by the Houthi movement across large areas of the country.
Al-Alimi praised the project’s achievements since its launch, saying landmines remain among the most devastating legacies of Yemen’s conflict because of the deaths, injuries, and permanent disabilities they have caused among civilians.
He said the extension reflects Saudi Arabia’s continued humanitarian commitment to Yemen and represents a long-term investment in protecting Yemeni lives and securing war-affected communities.
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) announced it had extended the Masam Project for another year at a cost of more than $52.5 million, continuing efforts to remove landmines and unexploded ordnance from Yemen.
The project is implemented through Saudi personnel and international expertise in cooperation with trained Yemeni teams. Activities include mine-clearance operations, public-awareness campaigns, and capacity-building programs designed to strengthen national expertise in the sector.
According to project figures, Masam has cleared more than 567,000 landmines, unexploded ordnance items, and other explosive remnants of war since its launch in mid-2018. The items recovered include anti-personnel and anti-tank mines planted in residential areas, farmland, roads, and civilian facilities.
Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, adviser at the Saudi Royal Court and supervisor general of KSrelief, said the extension reflects Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian responsibility toward the Yemeni people and its commitment to eliminating threats posed by landmines.
He noted that indiscriminately planted mines, often concealed through various methods, have caused thousands of civilian casualties, left many victims permanently disabled, spread fear among local communities, and disrupted agriculture and development activities across wide areas.
Al Rabeeah said Masam has become a leading humanitarian model for addressing the dangers of landmines and war remnants by combining field-clearance operations with training and rehabilitation programs that will help Yemenis confront such threats in the future.
He also praised the Saudi leadership for its humanitarian and relief efforts in Yemen and elsewhere, stressing that the Kingdom’s support for the Yemeni people will continue through a range of development, relief, and humanitarian programs.
