Yemen’s Aden Receives Third Batch of Saudi Oil Grant

Officials receiving a batch of Saudi oil aid in Aden on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Officials receiving a batch of Saudi oil aid in Aden on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Yemen’s Aden Receives Third Batch of Saudi Oil Grant

Officials receiving a batch of Saudi oil aid in Aden on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Officials receiving a batch of Saudi oil aid in Aden on Sunday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Yemen’s southern port of Aden received on Sunday 75,000 metric tons of Saudi oil derivatives as a third shipment of a fuel grant sponsored by the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDPRY) to help the war-torn country’s struggling electricity sector.

The grant is the latest in a series of aid packages worth over $4 billion presented by Saudi Arabia to Yemen. The neighboring Kingdom had allocated a $422 million fuel grant based on requests by Yemen’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy.

Sent with the help of the SDPRY, the third shipment was received by the Deputy Gov. of Aden Badr Mouaen, first undersecretary of Aden Mohammed Nasr Al-Shathili, SDPRY representative Mohammed Al-Yehya and other officials.

Al-Yehya hoped the third batch will reach the intended beneficiaries and improve the living standards of Yemenis.

For his part, Mouaen reiterated how vital the grant was for reducing power cuts and alleviating the suffering of Yemenis. He pointed out that each of Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik had ordered using the oil grant to improve the lives of citizens.

Hadi and Abdulmalik, according to Mouaen, recognized that the fuel donation aligns with Saudi Arabia’s established commitment to stand in solidarity with Yemenis in several significant fields, such as national and economic development and humanitarian relief.

Previous batches of the Saudi oil grant in May and June helped increase energy output by more than 25% in Yemeni governorates and more than 40% in Aden and stabilized fuel supplies.

The Saudi grants have reduced the burdens on the Yemeni government’s budget, reduced the depletion of hard currency in purchasing oil derivatives from global markets, stabilized Yemen’s riyal exchange rate and fuel prices against the US dollar, provided job opportunities, raised the productivity of Yemeni citizens, raised the performance of vital sectors and improved the livelihoods of Yemenis.



Calm Reported in Syria's Sweida as Tribal Fighters Said to Withdraw

Bedouin and tribal gunmen keep a position during clashes with Druze fighters in Syria's southern city of Sweida. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Bedouin and tribal gunmen keep a position during clashes with Druze fighters in Syria's southern city of Sweida. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
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Calm Reported in Syria's Sweida as Tribal Fighters Said to Withdraw

Bedouin and tribal gunmen keep a position during clashes with Druze fighters in Syria's southern city of Sweida. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Bedouin and tribal gunmen keep a position during clashes with Druze fighters in Syria's southern city of Sweida. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

Residents reported calm in the Syrian city of Sweida on Sunday after the government declared that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and the United States stepped up calls for an end to fighting.

There was no sound of gunfire on Sunday morning, according to a resident speaking from the city outskirts, while a Druze source in the region said there was calm in most areas.

The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters.

The Syrian presidency had announced a new ceasefire early on Saturday but it quickly collapsed into renewed fighting.