Development Saudi Arabia to invest $320m rebuilding Yemen Saudi Arabia will invest SAR1.2 billion ($320 million) to help rebuild war-battered Yemen, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency announced on Sunday. The kingdom has launched a package of 20 development projects in Yemen’s Hadramawt province, which form part of the kingdom’s “continuous economic and development support for the country,” the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed […] June 26, 2023
Banking & Finance Yemen raises customs duties by 50% on non-essential goods Yemen’s recognised government has raised the US dollar exchange rate used to calculate customs duties on non-essential goods by 50 percent, effective Tuesday, a document and traders said. The decision applies only to south Yemen, which the government controls, including the port city of Aden. The country’s main entry point for commodities, Hodeidah port, is […] January 11, 2023
Biden Middle East US weighs resumption of offensive arms sales to Saudi Arabia The Biden administration is discussing the possible lifting of its ban on US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia. But any final decision is expected to hinge on whether Riyadh makes progress towards ending the war in neighboring Yemen, according to four people familiar with the matter. Senior Saudi officials pressed their US counterparts […] July 12, 2022
Development New financing urgently needed to aid famine relief in Yemen Yemen is searching for new wheat suppliers but will need help to pay for increasingly costly imports, an official and a main importer said, as the World Food Programme (WFP) warned of cuts to food aid for millions already living on the brink of famine. Disruption to global wheat supplies due to the Ukraine war […] May 24, 2022
Banking & Finance Saudi extends deposit for Yemen and pays $2bn instalment Saudi Arabia has extended a deposit it gave the central bank of Yemen’s internationally recognised government in 2018, and agreed to pay the final instalment of the $2 billion support package it promised. The Saudi finance ministry said the 2018 deposit would be extended to support Yemen’s currency and economic situation. The Yemeni central bank […] May 17, 2022
Aviation First commercial flight takes off from Yemen Yemen’s national airline operated its first commercial flight in years from the capital Sanaa today, raising hopes for renewal of a United Nations-brokered truce in the seven-year-old conflict that has pitted a Saudi-led coalition against the Iran-aligned Houthis and put Middle East security in peril. Water canons sprayed Sanaa airport’s runway as an airplane of […] May 16, 2022
Insight Food & Drink Ukraine war drives Gulf to double down on food security As the war in Ukraine has pushed up food prices and disrupted supply chains, hard-hit Mena countries explore ways to protect themselves In Abu Dhabi clusters of fresh tomatoes are growing inside rows of climate-controlled greenhouses in the middle of the desert – just one example of the lengths the arid region must go to […] May 12, 2022
EXCLUSIVE Development ‘Zakat can save the world’ … and this is how International charities hit hard by the pandemic are turning to Zakat, which requires Muslims to donate a percentage of their wealth to help the needy As countries rich and poor reeled from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the work of charities was more important than ever. Yet many of these […] May 11, 2022
Energy TotalEnergies says Yemen plant could take six months to restart TotalEnergies’ plant in Yemen is “preserved”, the head of the French oil major said on Thursday, though it could take some six months to restart operations there. “According to our assumptions, it could take six months to restart the plant,” Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said in a call, noting that the energy giant was not part of […] May 6, 2022
Saudis ‘let down’ by US over Houthi security threats, says royal Saudi Arabia feels “let down” by the United States in tackling security threats to the kingdom and wider region by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, a senior member of the Saudi royal family and former intelligence chief said. Traditionally strong ties between Riyadh and Washington have been shaken under U.S. President Joe Biden by the 2018 […] May 3, 2022
Huge surge in measles as Covid hits jab campaigns Measles cases jumped by 79 percent in the first two months of this year compared to 2021, after COVID-19 and lockdowns disrupted child vaccination campaignsaround the world, according to data from UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO). In January and February, there were 17,338 measles cases reported worldwide, up from 9,665 in the same […] April 27, 2022
Yemen’s Houthis release crew of seized Emirati cargo vessel The Houthi movement that controls most of northern Yemen has released the crew of the United Arab Emirates cargo ship RWABEE that was seized on January 3, the group’s spokesman said. The release of the crew – 11 in all according to sources familiar with the matter – was agreed with the assistance of Oman, spokesman Mohammed […] April 27, 2022
Markets Aid groups push to feed Yemen’s hungry millions during Ramadan ceasefire A two-month ceasefire has given aid groups a chance to step up aid to Yemen’s hungry millions, but malnutrition ravaging children is projected to worsen if fighting returns or humanitarian funding does not pick up. “The benefits of the first weeks of truce are already significant,” said Erin Hutchinson, Yemen Director for the Norwegian Refugee […] April 22, 2022
Development Saudi gives Yemen money and urges peace talks Saudi Arabia welcomed the Yemeni president’s decision to transfer his powers to a new presidential council, urged the body to start negotiations with the Houthi group and said it would arrange $3 billion of support to the war-torn country’s economy, state news agency SPA said. Two billion dollars would come from Riyadh and another $1 billion […] April 6, 2022
