KUWAIT, Oct 29 (KUNA) -- Kuwait is ready anew to host the warring parties in Yemen to sign a final agreement when they agree upon one, First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah told a major meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Sunday.
Signing such a deal will open the door for an international conference on reconstruction in Yemen, in line with a resolution of the 36th Session of the Gulf Cooperation Council Supreme Council, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled told Foreign Ministers and Chiefs of Staff of the member states of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, according to a press statement by the Foreign Ministry in Kuwait.
He said they met in Riyadh to reiterate the importance of carrying on with the efforts of the coalition member states in support of legitimacy in Yemen, based on the GCC Initiative, its Implementing Mechanism and the outcome of the Yemeni National Dialogue, as well as the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, especially No. 2216.
He added that the meeting also aimed to reaffirm to the international community that the coalition's operation "Restoration of Hope" would continue for concluding a peaceful solution to the conflict, and to restore the internationally- acknowledged legitimacy to the entire state in Yemen.
Based on this view, Kuwait and other coalition states, play various roles on the political, development, and human, as well as other levels, he said.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said that Kuwait, in coordination with the GCC, hosted the UN-backed talks seeking peace in Yemen for more than three months.
This was out of Kuwait's keenness on restoring security and stability to Yemen, and convincing the warring parties with the importance of concluding a political solution to the crisis, he said.
The coalition is the framework coordinating the international collective action, supported by the Yemeni legitimate government, to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, he stressed.
During a conference for Yemen's donors in Geneva last April, Kuwait pledged USD 100 million to help meet the humanitarian needs of the Yemeni people, covering food supplies, sheltering, and health, education and water needs, the Kuwaiti chief diplomat said.
Almost half the sum has already been used, and the other half is expected to be used by the end of 2017 through the Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) and the Yemeni-Kuwaiti Relief Agency. The minister referred to other USD 16 million presented by Kuwaiti people.
In addition, Kuwait has been offering humanitarian aid to Yemenis in different parts of the country, either through coordination with the King Salman Center for Humanitarian Aid and Relief, or the "Kuwait by your side" campaign.
Moreover, the country pledged rebuilding 500 schools in Yemen, in addition to universities and faculties damaged by the war, in addition to providing huge quantities of solar power panels, and medical aid.
Back in 2012, during a donors' conference for Yemen in New York, Kuwait pledged USD 500 million, the Deputy Premier Minister and Foreign Minister said, adding that the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has voiced readiness for consultations with the Yemeni government to honor previous commitments, about USD 300 million, in the form of soft loans.
Kuwait will take part in the Yemen donors' conference due in Geneva in December.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled reiterated Kuwait's full commitment to Yemen's unity, and respect of its sovereignty and independence, rejecting any interference in the country's affairs. He reaffirmed support to the constitutional legitimacy in the country.
He stressed Kuwait's backing to the UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmad in his efforts to conclude a peaceful solution to the crisis, that can also halt the suffering of the Yemeni people amid the hard humanitarian and economic conditions they have been experiencing.
Kuwait reiterates that the measures by the coalition, including military strikes, constitute a "coordinated collective action that observe the acknowledged international systems in such a framework, seeking to restore legitimacy and stability nationwide," Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said.
He expressed Kuwait's condemnation of the ballistic missile launched by the Houthi militia on a residential complex southern of Saudi Arabia as an "act of aggression targeting unarmed civilians, and a continued violation of the rules of the International humanitarian law, and a threat of the regional and international security." Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled voiced Kuwait's solidarity with the Kingdom in whatever measures the country may take to maintain its security and safety.
He also offered condolences to the UAE over the death of one of its service men taking part in the "Restoration of Hope." (end) nma.abd.msa