Yemen PM in Cairo to Discuss Issues of Common Interest

The Egyptian prime minister receives his Yemeni counterpart in Cairo on Sunday, October 10, 2021. (Yemeni Ministry of Information)
The Egyptian prime minister receives his Yemeni counterpart in Cairo on Sunday, October 10, 2021. (Yemeni Ministry of Information)
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Yemen PM in Cairo to Discuss Issues of Common Interest

The Egyptian prime minister receives his Yemeni counterpart in Cairo on Sunday, October 10, 2021. (Yemeni Ministry of Information)
The Egyptian prime minister receives his Yemeni counterpart in Cairo on Sunday, October 10, 2021. (Yemeni Ministry of Information)

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik kicked off an official visit to Cairo on Sunday to coordinate with Egypt on issues of common interest.

According to an official statement, Abdulmalik headed a high-level ministerial delegation and his visit is at the official invitation of his counterpart Mostafa Madbouly.

His accompanying delegation included Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Waed Badheeb, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Najeeb al-Awj, Minister of Transport Abdulsalam Hamid, Minister of Petroleum and Minerals Abdulsalam Baaboud and Minister of Public Health and Housing Qassem Baheeh.

Abdulmalik returned to the interim capital Aden on September 28 after several months during which he was not able to return due to disputes with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and failure to implement the security and military aspects of the Riyadh Agreement.

Yemenis have pinned hope on the government taking the necessary measures on the economic, services and military levels.

His government has announced measures to save the crumbling economy, services, and sharp drop in the value of the currency.

These include depositing provincial revenues in the government’s account, imposing restrictions on imports of luxury goods and benefiting from the country’s special withdrawal rights from the International Monetary Fund.

The government ordered the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the relevant authorities to intensify control over commodity prices, prevent price manipulation and coordinate with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in this regard to ensure protecting consumers from any unjustified hikes in prices, the Saba news agency reported.

It also stressed “the illegality of any contracts or internal transactions in foreign currency,” urging the need to limit internal dealings in the national currency, including in real estate rental and others.

“The government’s return to work from the interim capital, Aden, and its implementation of the Riyadh Agreement will improve its ability to address challenges using state tools and institutions, complete the battle to restore the state and end the Iranian-backed Houthi coup,” the PM was quoted as saying.



Hezbollah: Any Truce Must Swiftly End Fighting, Preserve Lebanese Sovereignty

A Lebanese army inspection team checks destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted one of their positions in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Sarafand on November 20, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP)
A Lebanese army inspection team checks destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted one of their positions in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Sarafand on November 20, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP)
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Hezbollah: Any Truce Must Swiftly End Fighting, Preserve Lebanese Sovereignty

A Lebanese army inspection team checks destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted one of their positions in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Sarafand on November 20, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP)
A Lebanese army inspection team checks destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted one of their positions in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Sarafand on November 20, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP)

A Hezbollah official said on Wednesday that any US-brokered ceasefire deal between the group and Israel must end fighting swiftly and must preserve Lebanon's sovereignty, an apparent reference to Israel's stance that it will keep striking the Iran-backed group even with a truce in place.

Speaking to Hezbollah media, Mahmoud Qmati said that he was neither overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic about the prospects of a truce.

The US proposal could see Israeli ground forces leave Lebanon and Hezbollah militants withdraw away from the Israeli border. More Lebanese army troops and UN peacekeepers would be sent to a buffer zone in southern Lebanon as part of the deal.

But CNN has reported that an Israeli source familiar with the talks cast doubt on the likelihood of an imminent deal, noting that Hezbollah’s refusal to accept Israel’s demand for the right to strike the group in the event of a ceasefire violation could jeopardize the process. Without this clause, the source said, it was uncertain whether Israel’s prime minister could get cabinet approval for the agreement.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 in what it said was solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes, and all-out war erupted in September.

Israeli bombardment has killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon and wounded almost 15,000, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. It also displaced nearly 1.2 million, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, 87 soldiers and 50 civilians have been killed by rockets, drones and missiles, and tens of thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from homes near the border.

Hezbollah said its chief Sheikh Naim Qassem would give a speech Wednesday, a day after cancelling a similar announcement.

A statement from the group announced the speech by Qassem would be "today," without specifying a time.