Saudi Crown Prince expressed aspiration that the council’s establishment would contribute to start of a new chapter in Yemen that would move it from war to peace and development, reports Asian Lite News
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday received the President and members of the newly established Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council as Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Vice President Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar stepped aside.
Yemen will be governed by a new presidential leadership council tasked with negotiating with the Iran-backed Houthi militia, and a $3 billion aid package funded by Saudi Arabia and the UAE will shore up Yemen’s devastated economy, the Arab News reported.
The new moves were welcomed by the governments of Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Djibouti, France and Russia, and by leaders of the GCC, the Arab League, the Arab Parliament and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation.
They followed a week of talks in Riyadh involving rival leaders from across Yemen’s political spectrum. As the talks ended on Thursday, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Vice President Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar stepped aside to be replaced by the new eight-member presidential council.
“I irreversibly delegate to the presidential leadership council my full powers in accordance with the constitution and the Gulf Initiative and its executive mechanism,” Hadi said.
The new presidential council will be chaired by Rashad Al-Alimi, an adviser to Hadi who was interior minister in the government of the late Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Prince Salman expressed Saudi’s support for Council and aspiration that its establishment would contribute to the start of a new chapter in Yemen that would move it from war to peace and development. The Crown Prince also expressed hope that the next stage would be different, noting the determination and optimism of all.
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The Crown Prince also said he hoped for a “new page” to turn in Yemen. Saudi Arabia urged the new council to negotiate with the Houthis under UN auspices “for a final and comprehensive solution” to the Yemen conflict.
According to Arab News report, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will each inject $1 billion into Yemen’s central bank, and the Kingdom will grant an additional $1 billion in oil derivatives, development funds and a contribution to the UN aid appeal.
A further $300 million from the Kingdom has been pledged to fund the humanitarian response plan announced by the UN in 2022 to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people and improve their living conditions, according to the report.