Yemen Monitor/ Exclusive:
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan affirmed on Tuesday his country’s continuous and full support for efforts to achieve peace in Yemen and reach a comprehensive political solution through dialogue and consultation between the Yemeni parties.
This came in a speech delivered by bin Farhan during the meeting of foreign ministers in Al-Manama preparatory for the 33rd Arab summit in Bahrain.
Bin Farhan pointed out that peace in Yemen “will allow the start of the path of development and economic recovery.”
He reiterated the Kingdom’s “emphasis on the importance of preserving the security and safety of the Red Sea region and freedom of navigation in it, and getting the region and its peoples away of further crises.”
Yemen plunged into war when the Houthis swept into the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014. A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened on behalf of the internationally recognized government the following March to confront the Iran-backed Houthi group. The fighting has killed more than 400,000 Yemenis, according to the UN, displaced millions more, and caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises in a country already ravaged by decades of conflict and unrest.
UN agencies and 91 NGOs say 21.6 million people – 75% of the population – need humanitarian assistance.
The six-month ceasefire that ended last October is still largely holding, but moves towards peace have been slow since a Saudi delegation visited Sanaa in April.
