A+ A-

Kuwait earmarks USD 100 mln for Yemen

Deputy Prime Minister Khaled Suleiman Al-Jarallah
Deputy Prime Minister Khaled Suleiman Al-Jarallah

GENEVA, April 25 (KUNA) -- The State of Kuwait is earmarking USD 100 million as a contribution to international relief aid for the Yemeni people.
Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister Khaled Suleiman Al-Jarallah, who declared the financial allocation at a high-profile international pledging conference for Yemen, held here on Tuesday, indicated that the specialized fund was follow-up to a previous sum, USD 300 million, allotted for the Yemeni people.
The previous fund was in the form of soft loans, provided by Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), to finance development projects in Yemen. It was declared during a ministerial meeting of friends of Yemen, held in New York in 2012.
Al-Jarallah expressed in his speech conviction that the ideal solution to the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Yemen required restoration of stability, "a matter that could be attained through political settlement according to the three references and greater effort by the international community, represented by the Security Council." The references mentioned by Al-Jarallah are outcome of the national dialogue, the GCC initiative and relevant UN resolutions. In essence, these initiatives call for restoration of the legitimacy and withdrawal of the rebels from the cities they have conquered.
Houthi militias have seized several towns and cities, namely the Capital Sanaa, in the fighting against pro-government forces.
The deputy foreign minister expressed concern that the Security Council's failure to resolve the crisis in Syria might be replayed in Yemen. He regretted that marathon inter-Yemeni negotiations ended without tangible breakthrough.
He, however, expressed readiness to re-host "the Yemeni brothers" to ink a final conciliation agreement, in case the parties reached a settlement.
The senior Kuwaiti official renewed the call upon the Yemeni groups to return to the negotiating table to find a settlement to the annihilating conflict.
He lauded presence of the Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmad Obeid Bin Dhaghar at the conference as an indication of his government's keenness on tackling the humanitarian issue in his country.
The State of Kuwait shares the international community the concern regarding the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the brotherly Republic of Yemen, where the Arab coalition has exerted great efforts to taper them off by enabling hand-over of international aid to regions under the allied forces' control, Al-Jarallah said.
On these bases, the State of Kuwait has praised the humanitarian response plan for Yemen (2017) designed to meet the humanitarian needs "of our Yemeni brothers" -- outlined in the humanitarian requirements' documents put on the table at the conference.
"Success of the international community in attaining the objectives and meeting the humanitarian needs warrant restoration of control by the legitimate government; through executing resolutions of the international legitimacy, allowing inflow of humanitarian supplies to the contested areas and granting permits for humanitarian activities," he said.
In 2015, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah declared allocating USD 100 million in aid for the Yemeni people, he said, also noting that the Kuwaiti support for the Yemeni people dated to decades ago. (Pick up previous) ta.rk