Yemeni leader thanks Saudi Arabia for ongoing support of reform program

Yemen's Rashad Al-Alimi expressed heartfelt gratitude towards Saudi Arabia for their continuous backing of the country's reform program. He applauded the Saudi support for the national budget, regular salary payments, enhancement of basic services, and funding for a range of development and humanitarian initiatives. Al-Alimi deemed the cooperation with Saudi Arabia as a blueprint for leveraging aid to foster reforms, stability, and institutional renewal.

He directed the Ministry of Planning to build upon this approach, enhance trust with donors and regional and international allies, and urge them to broaden their focused efforts to assist the state in fulfilling its commitments to its citizens. Al-Alimi, as per Yemen's Saba news agency, underscored the necessity of transitioning from emergency needs management to planning for recovery and reconstruction.

He emphasized identifying key projects, prioritizing community resilience, particularly in education, health, water, electricity, food security, livelihoods, and infrastructure. The Yemeni leader further urged special consideration for international and humanitarian organizations in the interim capital, Aden, and urged for their seamless operation in coordination with the prime minister's office, local authorities, and relevant bodies.

Al-Alimi stressed the urgent need to address any administrative or procedural hurdles these organizations face, to ensure aid reaches those affected by the conflict in all provinces. He also implored for a top priority for international cooperation to be given to displaced persons and those most impacted by the war, with a focus on improving basic services in host areas and linking humanitarian aid to sustainable programs in education, health, employment, and livelihoods.

Al-Alimi also highlighted the importance of establishing a national database for projects, needs, and international funding, to help the government uncover gaps, optimize resource distribution, and evaluate the actual impact of development and humanitarian interventions on citizens' lives and state institutions.