Kuwait Backs Yemen Sides In Peace Talks

18 November 2018 International

Kuwait expressed readiness to provide logistical support to ensure the participation of Yemeni parties in a round of consultations expected to be held in Stockholm. This came during Kuwait’s speech at a meeting of the Security Council on Yemen on Friday by Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi, where he stressed the Kuwaiti support for the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the UN to Yemen Martin Griffith in this regard. Al-Otaibi affirmed Kuwait’s belief that there is no solution to the crisis in Yemen except the political solution, expressing support for the political process to end the suffering of the Yemeni people.

He pointed out the importance of complying with UN Security Council Resolution 2216 to guarantee Yemen’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs. Al-Otaibi welcomed the announcement of the resumption of political consultations in Stockholm, and expressed his thanks to Sweden for its willingness to host these consultations. He expressed the hope that the Yemeni parties would be present in this round of consultations and engage in them in good faith and without preconditions, and dispel concerns about the repetition of the scenario of the Geneva consultations in September, which witnessed the absolute support of the Security Council and the international community.

The lack of participation of Al- Houthi delegation group has had negative repercussions on the course of the crisis, in addition to its catastrophic effects on various humanitarian, economic and political levels in Yemen, he added. The Ambassador hoped that the next round of consultations would lead to a political solution based on the three agreed terms of reference in order to stop this crisis and restore Yemen to its former status as a stable country that enjoys peace and security. He also expressed deep concerns about the humanitarian situation in Yemen, which threatens the imminent danger of food insecurity and the possibility of the occurrence of more than 14 million people in the circle of the threat to the Yemeni people.

This comes because of non-implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and the continuation of the armed conflict, which created a war economy, he added. The international community has a great responsibility to provide the necessary assistance to the Yemeni government to ensure the success of its policy aimed at supporting the national currency and to pay salaries to citizens throughout Yemen.

Al-Otaibi praised in this regard the great and continuous role played by Saudi Arabia and at various periods to inject financial deposits in the Central Bank of Yemen, where the total deposited about $3.2 billion. He also praised Saudi and Emirati governments for providing $75 million to support the salaries of more than 135,000 teachers in different regions of Yemen and in coordination with the UN and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Al-Otaibi noted the continuation of the human suffering facing the Yemeni people, despite all the international community’s generous financial and in-kind support, which was the latest donor conference for Yemen held in Geneva last April. During the conference, Kuwait donated $250 million to UN agencies and organizations working in the field, in addition to the fl exible and cooperative role of the joint leadership of the Alliance of Legitimacy Support in facilitating the humanitarian aid process, Al-Otaibi said.

Ambassador Al-Otaibi welcomed the intention of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to hold a conference to support the humanitarian situation in Yemen in February next year, pointing out Kuwait’s aspiration to participate in it. Britain will present a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in Yemen to the UN Security Council next Monday, British Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Karen Pierce said.

Pierce told a UN Security Council session on Friday that her country’s foreign minister, Jeremy Hunt, had been asked to inform council regarding the resolution, which “meets the five demands” of the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock.

At the meeting, Lowcock identified five key demands that council members called for to complete without delay, including the cessation of hostilities in and around all infrastructure and facilities on which relief operations and commercial importers depend.

Lowcock also requested the facilitation and protection of food and other commodities throughout the country, with the need to support the Yemeni economy by pumping foreign currency, paying salaries and pensions, and increasing funding and support to aid operations. Lowcock added that Saudi Arabia helped stabilize the Yemeni riyal, adding $200 million to the Central Bank of Yemen, which helped finance imports of food and other basic commodities, but much more money was needed for humanitarian assistance in the face of growing challenges. For his part, UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffith said that although the confl ict continues, he welcomes recent reports on reducing violence in the country.

 

SOURCE : ARABTIMES

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