RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has provided $346.6 million (1.3 blln SAR) to help pay Yemeni government employees the massive shortfall in their salaries.

The payment, under a ruling by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, was delivered through the Saudi Program for Development and Reconstruction of Yemen (SDRPY).

The payment is part of the Kingdom’s ongoing work to promote stability and development for the Yemenis, the SDRPY said in a statement released on its X.com account.

The statement added that the initiative aimed to strengthen economic, financial and monetary stability in Yemen, enhance the capacity of government institutions, improve governance and transparency, and enable the private sector to drive sustainable economic growth.

Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council chairman Rashad Al-Alimi thanked the Saudi royals for the support, describing it as an extension of the Kingdom’s longstanding support for the Yemeni people.

And Al-Alimi said the support sent a message of confidence in Yemen’s path of recovery as well as the in the government’s ability to strengthen national institutions and reinforce security and stability.

Adding that Yemen’s ongoing partnership with Saudi Arabia represented an important choice for a more stable future.

And he called for a unified effort to support the reconstruction of the country’s instituions, as well as improve living conditions and advance economic and social development.