King Salman’s $200m grant would boost Yemen’s stability: Cabinet

JEDDAH: The Saudi cabinet commended King Salman’s directive to grant $200 million to the Central Bank of Yemen to support its alleviation of the economic burdens of the Yemeni people.
This is in addition to the previous total of $3 billion, confirming Saudi Arabia’s support of the Yemeni people and of its government to restore the country’s security and stability.
Chaired by the king at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Tuesday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman briefed the cabinet on the results of his official visit to Kuwait based on the king’s directives and in response to the invitation of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, emir of Kuwait.
The cabinet also praised the public financial strategy and its contribution to reducing deficit rates, supporting public finance sustainability and economic growth, the successful implementation of initiatives to develop non-oil revenues, and improving spending efficiency.
The council of ministers praised the preliminary budget statement for the fiscal year (1440/1441 2019), which was announced for the first time in the history of the Kingdom’s budget.
The cabinet reviewed Saudi Arabia’s assertion, before the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York, of its positions on a number of issues in the Middle East. Foremost was the trend toward peaceful solutions for disputes, the adoption of mediation efforts, the emphasis on respect for national sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries, the importance of adherence to international norms and laws, and efforts to combat extremism and terrorism.
It also reviewed the joint statement by Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on the Human Rights Council’s failure to adopt a unified draft resolution on Yemen. This was in the absence of cooperation by some countries with international resolutions on the human rights situation and their not taking into account the concerns of countries in the international and regional expert group report presented to the 39th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The council of ministers reviewed the statement made by the Kingdom before the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the UN in New York, and its emphasis on the importance of the Palestinian cause for Islamic and Arab nations, the Arab and Islamic identity of Jerusalem and the right of the State of Palestine to sovereignty over all Palestinian land occupied in 1967 including Jerusalem.
Finally, the cabinet also expressed strong condemnation of the bombing that targeted the EU’s procession in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.