KSA, UAE, USA, UK identify key actions to address situation in Yemen

Senior Officials and Ambassadors of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States of America and United Kingdom met in Riyadh to identify key actions to rapidly address the economic and humanitarian situation in Yemen.

To date a number of steps have been taken to help Yemen’s economy and stabilize the Yemeni Riyal. These have included the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s initial deposit of $2 billion into the Central Bank of Yemen, followed by their recent $200 million grant to the Government of Yemen, and monthly donation of $60 million in fuel derivatives for municipal power generation.

This is in addition to the generous humanitarian and development funding and support from all four nations.

Yemen’s economic situation and the value of the Riyal remain fragile, and concerted efforts are required to ensure these gains are not reversed.

The four nations encourage the international community to increase its support to Yemen. The four nations agreed to establish a Technical Advisory Committee to meet monthly with the aim of agreeing to further measures to stabilize the currency, to strengthen the management of foreign currency flows, and to support the Government of Yemen efforts to improve its economic management.

The four nations also agreed to:

- Support the establishment of an International Financial Corporation Trade Facility under the supervision of the Central Bank of Yemen.

- Intensity support for the UN Special Envoy’s efforts on economic confidence-building measures, recognising that further economic deterioration would have implications for the political process.

- Provide support to the Government of Yemen to implement overall economic reform, including payment of civil servant salaries according to the Government of Yemen payrolls of 2014. These commitments are intended to bolster Yemen’s formal economy and improve the purchasing power of all Yemenis.

The four nations affirmed the importance of economic development in alleviating the humanitarian situation. They stressed the critical importance of humanitarian and commercial access, the protection of civilians and of civilian infrastructure, and committed to a more detailed senior level discussion of these and other humanitarian issues in the coming weeks.