Yemen’s PLC Shows Commitment to Rebuilding State, Institutional Reform

Head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi with the new governors of Hadhramaut and Socotra. (Saba News Agency)
Head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi with the new governors of Hadhramaut and Socotra. (Saba News Agency)
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Yemen’s PLC Shows Commitment to Rebuilding State, Institutional Reform

Head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi with the new governors of Hadhramaut and Socotra. (Saba News Agency)
Head of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi with the new governors of Hadhramaut and Socotra. (Saba News Agency)

Since assuming power on April 7, Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has been tirelessly mobilizing to restore legitimate institutions in the war-torn nation while working on unifying ranks against the Iran-backed Houthi militias.

Many observers predict that more reforms will be announced for different institutions and sectors in Yemen.

PLC head Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi recently replaced four ministers in the legitimate government, including defense and energy ministers. Alimi also named new ministers for the power and public works portfolios.

Mabkhoot bin Mubarak bin Madhi was named governor of the oil-producing Hadhramaut region in the south, and Raafat Ali Ibrahim was appointed governor of the Socotra island in the Arabian Sea.

Alimi appointed Lieutenant-General Mohsen al-Daeri as defense minister and Said al-Shamasi as energy minister.

Manea Saleh was named minister of power, and Salim Mohammed was named minister of public works.

Well-informed Yemeni sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that discussions are underway for the PLC issuing more decisions as part of reform aimed at reinstating structural legitimacy of civil and military institutions.

According to sources, the cabinet reshuffle was preceded by the formation of the joint security and military committee.

The newly formed committee is currently working to restructure military and security forces and unify their leadership under the ministries of defense and security.

The PLC has also discussed a proposal to form a higher committee for sovereign and local revenues, and another for development and reconstruction projects, sources added.

A direction towards forming supervisory and technical committees reflects the PLC’s ambitions for administrative and financial reforms as it seeks to fulfill its local and international obligations.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, political analyst Fares al-Beel praised the PLC’s drive towards reform.

“Alimi and PLC members are well aware of the great pit that Yemen has fallen into and are working to save the country,” he remarked.



Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.