Yemeni PM: New Govt Will Introduce Fresh Reforms

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik meets with the French Ambassador to Yemen Jean-Marie Safa. (Saba news agency)
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik meets with the French Ambassador to Yemen Jean-Marie Safa. (Saba news agency)
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Yemeni PM: New Govt Will Introduce Fresh Reforms

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik meets with the French Ambassador to Yemen Jean-Marie Safa. (Saba news agency)
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik meets with the French Ambassador to Yemen Jean-Marie Safa. (Saba news agency)

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik revealed on Saturday that the next government will usher in a host of economic reforms that will be implemented in cooperation with the country’s partners.

Abdulmalik added that corruption in state institutions will be dealt with strictly.

He noted that the coming period will be difficult as he revealed that a mini-technocrat government will be announced this week.

The challenges will be huge but it is not impossible for the new government to overcome, he said during a meeting with French ambassador to Yemen, Jean-Marie Safa.

The mission to save the national economy, put an end to the depreciation of the national currency, complete the restoration of the state and build its institutions and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people across the country without exceptions will be the top priority, Abdulmalik said.

The new government has a package of reforms which it will carry out with support from partners and friends of Yemen in the fields of development, economy and finance as well as measures to fight corruption and enhance accountability, he stressed.

The PM accused the Iran-backed Houthi militias of deepening the humanitarian crisis through refusing all proposed solutions to resolve economic crises and the military escalation.

Talks with the French diplomat tackled recent developments in Yemen and France’s continued support of state institutions and the Yemeni people. The officials also discussed priorities for the upcoming period and areas of cooperation between Yemen and France.

Abdulmalik touched on the advanced steps that have been achieved in implementing the Riyadh Agreement on the military, security and political levels, as well as the consensus between the political stakeholders to announce a Yemeni cabinet in the coming days.

Talks also went over the repeated Houthi targeted attacks on civilians in clear and flagrant rejection of the political solution.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.