The Saudi Program for Development and Reconstruction in Yemen (SPDRY) distributed Sunday 100 modern fishing boats equipped with engines to Yemeni fishermen in Hadramaut governorate, in the context of its support for livelihoods and development in all Yemeni regions.
The delivery of boats came under the auspices of the Governor of Hadramaut, Major General Faraj Al-Bahsani, and in the presence of the representative of the Saudi program in Hadramaut Governorate Muhammad Al Hadi. SPDRY stated in a communiqué that the 100 fishing boats are equipped with modern engines, each with a capacity of 40 horses, with the aim of providing support and specific solutions that contribute to empowering local fishermen who face difficulties in running small boats in windy season and to compensate them for the boats that were destroyed by tropical cyclones facing the governorate.
This is the fourth batch of fishing boats distributed by the Program in the Yemeni governorates, after distributing boats in Al-Mahra, Socotra, and Shabwa, at the request of the local authority following a field visit by the program.
The fishing sector is the first economic tributary to the governorate because it provides job opportunities to more than half a million people, who make up 18 percent of the Yemeni coastal communities.
The implementation of this project is expected to increase the income of the Yemeni fishermen and their families, and to raise fish production in the governorate. Bahsani said the Hadramaut governorate ranks first in terms of the number of fishermen, fish production, and investment in the fisheries sector, noting the importance of this support.
He said the local authority in the governorate will do its best to create the appropriate atmosphere for the program's projects. For his part, the representative of SPDRY in Hadramaut, Muhammad Al Hadi, explained during the inauguration that these projects “are an extension of the continuous endeavors launched under the direction of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his faithful Crown Prince for Yemen.
“We are cooperating with the local authority to create more job opportunities and to build diverse capacities, with an aim to integrate efforts to achieve the interest of the Yemeni human being above all,” he said.
These projects are part of the achievements of the Saudi Program in Hadramaut, in which the program implemented several development projects, including the establishment of two model schools, the distribution of six water tankers, and the support of health centers with five fully equipped ambulances, in addition to supporting the Seiyun airport with an emergency vehicle and equipment.
It is noteworthy that the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen has implemented more than 193 projects and initiatives in seven basic sectors in Yemen, which are education, health, water, energy, transportation, agriculture and fisheries, and governmental capacity building.
The program adopts best practices of development, reconstruction, and intellectual leadership in the field of sustainable development to strengthen the historical, cultural, and economic relationship between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
