Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met on Thursday with the president and members of the newly formed Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, expressing the Kingdom’s hope that its establishment would turn a new page in Yemen.
The Crown Prince further stressed Saudi Arabia’s keenness on supporting the country’s security and stability.
The reception was attended by Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of State, Cabinet Member and National Security Adviser Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Head of State Security Abdulaziz Al-Huwairini, Chief of General Intelligence Khalid bin Ali Al-Humaidan, and Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jaber.
Meanwhile, Gulf, Arab and other states on Thursday welcomed the Yemeni president’s decision to transfer his powers to the new presidential council, headed by Rashad Al-Alimi.
Saudi Arabia hailed the announcement of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi on launching the presidential council under the Yemeni constitution and the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanisms.
In this regard, Saudi Arabia announced providing urgent $3 billion support to the Yemeni economy, including $2 billion from the Kingdom and UAE to support the Central Bank of Yemen and a $1 billion Saudi grant for petroleum products and development.
Moreover, Riyadh called for an international conference to support Yemen’s economy and said it would give $300 million to the United Nations aid response to the country’s humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia urged the new presidential leadership council to start negotiating with the Houthis, under the supervision of the United Nations, to reach a final and comprehensive political solution that includes a transitional period that will lead Yemen to peace and development.
In a statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the formation of a new presidential council in Yemen with full presidential powers, saying it hopes that such a step will help Yemen complete the transitional phase and move toward security and safety.
“Egypt has followed with the utmost interest the formation of the presidential leadership council in the Yemeni republic, with full presidential powers, to complete the tasks of the transitional phase in Yemen, according to the constitution and the Gulf initiative,” the statement read.
The Jordanian government, for its part, welcomed the new development, expressing full support for reaching a political solution for the Yemeni crisis, based on the approved references, namely the GCC initiative and its executive mechanisms, the Yemeni Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, and UN Security Council Resolution 2216.
Jordan also commended economic support provided by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to support the Yemeni economy, alleviate the suffering of the people and finance the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) announced by the United Nations.
Russia has also welcomed the establishment of the Yemeni presidential council.
“We hope that members of the Presidential Leadership Council will do everything in their power to stabilize the situation in Yemen and restore this historically friendly country to a peaceful life,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
On the GCC level, Bahrain affirmed its full support for the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council to achieve the aspirations of the Yemeni people for security, stability and development, and end the Yemeni crisis through a comprehensive political solution between the different Yemeni components.
Kuwait also praised on Thursday the decision to form the council, a step in line with the Yemeni constitution and the GCC peace initiative. A statement by the foreign ministry expressed the country’s full support to the council’s efforts to achieve stability, peace, and security for Yemen and its people.
Similarly, Dr. Nayef Al Hajraf, GCC Secretary General, welcomed the announcement made by Hadi to complete the implementation of the tasks of the transitional period, in accordance with the Yemeni constitution, and the GCC initiative and its executive mechanism.
From the Egyptian capital, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit lauded the decision, expressing his hope that the new council would lead the country towards peace.
The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hussein Ibrahim Taha, for his part, said he hoped that this declaration would contribute to ending the fighting in Yemen and supporting negotiations between all Yemeni parties.
