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21:11 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (KUNA) -- Four US-funded cranes arrived at Yemen's Port of Hudaydah over the weekend in a move which aims to decrease the offloading time of humanitarian supplies by 50 percent.
"They can begin to increase the capacity of the port to move supplies from ships that will be offloading in Hudaydah Port out into the center of the country, feeding the people of Yemen," a State Department official told reporters on Tuesday.
Although the cranes were funded by the US government, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking said that the "Saudi-led coalition was also very instrumental in helping us with the logistics."
This morning, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan to thank the Emiratis for their support in the process.
Last Friday, Tillerson also spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, during his visit to Washington, to help prepare for the cranes' delivery over the weekend. (end)
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