Yemen Presidential Council Sets Priorities, Vows to Restore State

Arab World

April 17th, 4:34am

Aden, Riyadh - Ali Rabih and Abdulhadi Habtor

The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council meets on Saturday. (Saba)

The new Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council convened with the government for the first time on Saturday. The meeting, held in Riyadh, set the priorities of the council for the upcoming period and the means to implement its duties. Chaired by Rashad al-Alimi, the council includes seven other officials. Official sources said the council's priorities are seeking the "highest level of consensus" in line with the current critical state of affairs in Yemen. The council will rely on consensus between local forces and political and societal groupings to operate with the aim to restore the state and ease the suffering of the people. The council stressed that achieving economic stability and easing humanitarian suffering are its top priorities, reported the state news agency Saba. Alimi expressed his confidence that national efforts and unity will succeed in translating into action the outcomes of the intra-Yemeni consultations that were held in Riyadh earlier this month. The consultations represent a new phase of work towards easing the suffering of the people by the Iran-backed Houthi militias. The council's hand is extended to just and comprehensive peace, he stressed, adding that it will not hesitate in defending the security of Yemen and its people. It will defeat any Iranian agenda aimed at undermining Yemen's Arab identity and turning it into a source of threat to the Gulf, he continued. Alimi said: "We realize the amount of challenges ahead of us, but we are determined enough to forge ahead." "We are relying on the cooperation of all sides, on the local, regional and international levels, to fulfill our national duties" he declared.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3596186/yemen-presidential-council-sets-priorities-vows-restore-state