Saudi Arabia pledges $3.25 bln for Yemen

Saudi Arabia has pledged USD 3.25bn in aid to Yemen, which is facing political instability and a possible humanitarian catastrophe. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal announced, at the inaugural session of the 3rd ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of Yemen, that the money was intended for development projects. The Group includes GCC States, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Malaysia, the Republic of China, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Denmark, India, the United States of America, Japan, Turkey, the Kingdom of Spain, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Russian Federation, the Republic of South Korea, Australia, the Kingdom of Netherlands, the Republic of Italy, Indonesia, and major international organizations. Addressing the meeting, Prince Saud Al-Faisal welcomed the delegations participating in the meeting. In his speech, Prince Saud said, " This Ministerial Conference of the Friends of Yemen comes as an extension of the two former meetings, wishing you a pleasant stay and hoping that this meeting reaches practical and concrete results to keep pace with the levels of difficulties, risks and challenges witnessed by the people of Yemen, which require that all of us stand by them and support their ambitions and aspirations, and their urgent humanitarian needs. He was quoted by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as expressing his sincere condolences to the Yemeni government and people on killing and wounding of a number of men of Yemeni Armed Forces in the terrorist attack perpetrated by a criminal group at Sabee'n Yard in Sana'a last Monday, which should strengthen our determination to support Yemen and assist it to counter terrorism and security threats. "I renew my congratulations to the brotherly people of Yemen on the success of presidential elections held in February, which launched the transitional stage in accordance with the initiative of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States. There is no doubt that the broad participation of peoples in these elections was the biggest proof of the great support given to the GCC initiative by the Yemeni people looking forward to achieving security, stability and progress. I emphasize here once again to our brothers in Yemen that we all stand by them, support them for the completion of the stages of the initiative associated with the political process, assist them in achieving security, stability and prosperity, and confront the threats of extremism, terrorism and attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of Yemen, and incite sedition and differences between them. "Yemen is a country with a genuine civilization and a deep-rooted history. The Yemeni human being is creative and committed to contribute to building his country and he is worthy of all assistance and support; so the security, stability and development of Yemen are international responsibilities and their repercussions for international security justify international obligations to meet the requirements of development in Yemen. I urge all friendly countries of Yemen to support and finance projects, programs and development plans submitted by Yemen. In his speech before the conference, Yemeni Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salem Basendwah expressed gratitude to Riyadh for hosting the conference, noting that the recent terrorist bombing in Sanaa underscored Yemen's dire need for greater attention and praised the Gulf initiative that helped the nation restore normalcy. He also called for greater aid to help Sanaa face terrorism and extremism, referring to last Monday suicide blast which claimed hundreds of victims , the matter which makes it incumbent on the friends of yemen to stand beside Yemen in its ordeal. The 3rd ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of Yemen Mohammed bin Salem Basendwah also expressed his thanks to Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, for his strenuous efforts to prepare for the meeting and the Kingdom's hosting it. The Yemeni Prime Minister commended the roles and proposals of the ambassadors of member states of the Group of Friends of Yemen emanating from their keenness on the success of the meeting, also praising Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States for their great interest in Yemen. Earlier today, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, received the heads of delegations participating in 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of Yemen. The heads of delegations represent Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Algeria, Federation of Malaysia, Republic of China (PRC) , Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of France, Denmark, India, the United States of America, Japan, Republic of Turkey, Kingdom of Spain, Republic of Brazil, the United Kingdom, Russian Federation, Republic of South Korea, Australia, Kingdom of Netherlands, Republic of Italy, Republic of Indonesia, and international organizations