Yemeni Govt Announces New Ministerial Program, Pending Parliamentary Approval

Yemeni government meets in Aden, Yemen (Photo credit: Office of the Yemeni prime minister)
Yemeni government meets in Aden, Yemen (Photo credit: Office of the Yemeni prime minister)
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Yemeni Govt Announces New Ministerial Program, Pending Parliamentary Approval

Yemeni government meets in Aden, Yemen (Photo credit: Office of the Yemeni prime minister)
Yemeni government meets in Aden, Yemen (Photo credit: Office of the Yemeni prime minister)

The internationally recognized government in Yemen has successfully declared its ministerial program draft on Monday, preparing it for referral to parliament for approval.

According to official sources, the draft encompasses sections that cover security and defense, fiscal and monetary policies, economy and investment, infrastructure, energy and environment, general administration and good governance, human development, foreign relations, planning and information.

The draft is based on accurate analysis of outstanding challenges and most urgent needs, as well as policies and interventions necessary to cope with all challenges, reorganize and unite the military and security institutions in the face of Houthis, and mobilize resources from donors.

It is worth noting that the cabinet had assigned a ministerial committee, headed by Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, to prepare a draft ministerial program for the newly formed power-sharing government.

On December 18, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi announced a new government as part of his efforts to implement the political annex of the Riyadh Agreement which was signed by the government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

“The new program reflects the government's commitment and determination to start new course of work aimed at restoring the state, ending the Houthi coup and achieving economic stability and recovery,” said Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik at press conference in Aden after the cabinet holding an extraordinary meeting.

“The real criterion of this draft will be the assessment of progress based on achievement and implementation, requiring the government members to work according to different rational mechanisms to effectively tackle the challenges,” he told reporters.

Abdulmalik stressed that “every ministry should assume its full responsibility in implementing the obligations and undertakings stipulated in the government's ministerial program draft.”

The premier emphasized that the government’s vision is focused on recovery, stopping currency devaluation and economic decline and building state institutions. Restoring law and order and upholding principles of accountability are also part of the government’s new scheme.

Abdulmalik called on Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to provide his government with urgent support.



Libya’s Coast Guard Intercepts 64 Europe-bound Migrants

Libyan Security forces guard a main road in Sebha in southeastern Libya on September 6, 2024. (Photo by Abdullah DOMA / AFP)
Libyan Security forces guard a main road in Sebha in southeastern Libya on September 6, 2024. (Photo by Abdullah DOMA / AFP)
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Libya’s Coast Guard Intercepts 64 Europe-bound Migrants

Libyan Security forces guard a main road in Sebha in southeastern Libya on September 6, 2024. (Photo by Abdullah DOMA / AFP)
Libyan Security forces guard a main road in Sebha in southeastern Libya on September 6, 2024. (Photo by Abdullah DOMA / AFP)

Libya’s coast guard intercepted dozens of Europe-bound migrants on a boat and returned them to shore, authorities said Saturday, a few days after a shipwreck off the country left nearly two dozen dead or missing.

The boat was carrying 64 migrants and was intercepted Friday off the northwestern town of Sirte, according to the town's coast guard unit. It posted images on Facebook showing dozens of migrants, including at least one woman and a child, upon their return, The Associated Press reported. The coast guard also set the migrant boat on fire, a procedure aimed at preventing its reuse by traffickers.

On Wednesday, a boat carrying 32 migrants from Egypt and Syria capsized off Libya’s eastern town of Tobruk, leaving 22 missing and presumed dead. The Libyan coast guard said it rescued nine people and recovered one body.
Human traffickers in recent years have benefited from the disorder in Libya, smuggling in migrants across the country’s lengthy borders. The migrants are crowded onto ill-equipped vessels, including rubber boats, and set off on risky sea voyages to Europe.
According to the International Organization for Migration's missing migrants project, at least 434 were reported dead and 611 missing off Libya between January and August this year while more than 14,100 migrants were intercepted and brought back to shore.