Yemeni PM Stresses Need for Competency in New Government

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik meets with leaders of the Islah Party. (Saba)
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik meets with leaders of the Islah Party. (Saba)
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Yemeni PM Stresses Need for Competency in New Government

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik meets with leaders of the Islah Party. (Saba)
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik meets with leaders of the Islah Party. (Saba)

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik, who is negotiating the formation of a new government, stressed the need for the next cabinet to be a technocratic one whereby competent experts are appointed in office, official sources reported.

Sources informed on the consultations and negotiations carried out by the PM in Riyadh affirmed that there is consensus on the need to expedite the formation of a government.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, they said Abdulmalik underscored the need to appoint competent ministers to cabinet portfolios so that they can lead the upcoming period in harmony and in a way that ensures uniting the national front and dealing with the economic, military and political situation in the country.

On Sunday, the PM discussed with leaders of the Islah Party the formation of the new government and coordinating efforts to make its work successful.

He stressed the great need to exert all efforts to complete the implementation of the mechanism that would accelerate the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement.

The PM had kicked off his consultations on Friday by meeting with the Southern Transitional Council. He met with the General People’s Congress officials on Saturday.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.