Saudi Arabia announces $3bn support to Yemen

Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday a three billion U.S. dollars support for Yemen, following the formation of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council.

The Saudi Press Agency reported that the support included two billion dollars offered jointly by the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates to the Yemeni Central Bank.

It said it also included one billion dollars from Saudi Arabia, in which 600 million dollars was to fund the purchase of oil derivatives and 400 million dollars to support development projects and initiatives.

Saudi Arabia also announced offering 300 million dollars for the United Nation’s (UN) humanitarian response plan in 2022 to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.

Meanwhile, the kingdom urged the newly formed Yemeni council to embark on negotiations with the Houthis under the auspices of the UN to reach a final and comprehensive political solution.

Earlier, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, had announced the establishment of a Presidential Leadership Council, and handed over power to the council to proceed with the duties during the transitional period.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened on March 26, 2015, to support the Yemeni government.