Saudi Oil Grant Lights up Hadramout, Aden

The oil tanker that carried the third batch of the Saudi oil derivatives grant to Yemen in the port of Aden at the end of last July (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The oil tanker that carried the third batch of the Saudi oil derivatives grant to Yemen in the port of Aden at the end of last July (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Oil Grant Lights up Hadramout, Aden

The oil tanker that carried the third batch of the Saudi oil derivatives grant to Yemen in the port of Aden at the end of last July (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The oil tanker that carried the third batch of the Saudi oil derivatives grant to Yemen in the port of Aden at the end of last July (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi oil grant to power stations in Yemen has raised production capacities by 40%, with the generated electricity feeding the governorates of Aden, Lahij, and Abyan.

Also, locals in Hadramout governorate, the largest in Yemen, reported an improvement in their power supply.

The Kingdom’s oil donation has helped decrease daily blackouts from six-hour breaks to three-hour pauses, providing electricity in five-hour intervals.

Moreover, the grant has helped the Yemeni government save significantly on its budget and has alleviated the suffering Yemenis used to experience as a result of power stations going out of service each month due to fuel shortages or delays in fuel delivery.

In the interim capital, Aden, government employee Abdulaziz al-Sqaf confirmed that the Kingdom’s successive grants to Yemeni power stations had a positive effect that citizens can feel.

According to al-Sqaf electricity blackouts have been halved, and power stations are no longer shutting down because of fuel deficiencies.

Amin Abdullah, a retail shop owner in Aden, confirmed that the difference the grant achieved was substantial and that all Yemenis were talking about how great of an improvement the donation has brought about to their lives.

Power cut-offs had severely affected the population, including seniors, children, and the ill. More so, electricity blackouts had taken their toll on the supply of essential commodities to Yemeni families, businesses, and the economy.

“People had suffered greatly from poor electricity supplies amid rising temperatures, and some families were forced to live in hotels,” Abdullah told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Nevertheless, Abdullah said that the situation is much better with the Saudi donation helping power stations produce more electricity for the people.

In Hadramout's capital city, Mukalla, local radio station director Majdi Baziad confirmed that the oil grant had achieved remarkable stability in electricity services in districts lying on the governorate’s coast.



Saudi, Spanish FMs Discuss Developments in Gaza

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah meets with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares in Madrid on Thursday. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah meets with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares in Madrid on Thursday. (SPA)
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Saudi, Spanish FMs Discuss Developments in Gaza

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah meets with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares in Madrid on Thursday. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah meets with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares in Madrid on Thursday. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah held talks in Madrid on Thursday with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the European Council on Foreign Relations, discussed means of boosting Saudi-Spanish relations in various fields.

The FMs reviewed regional and international developments, with particular emphasis on the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Saudi Ambassador to Spain Princess Haifa bint Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf Al-Moqrin and Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Director General Abdulrahman Al-Dawood attended the meeting.

Prince Faisal also met with United Nations (UN) Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag.

They discussed the importance of delivering sufficient and sustainable humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. They emphasized the need to reach a ceasefire to halt the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the strip.