Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
A government source clarified that the presence of Prime Minister Salem Ahmed bin Brik in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, after taking the constitutional oath, is focused on securing urgent financial and economic support to address critical challenges, most notably the delay in paying employee salaries, the electricity crisis, and the collapse of the national currency.
The source confirmed, in a statement to the official Yemeni news agency, that the Prime Minister’s return to the temporary capital, Aden, will take place as soon as arrangements are completed to ensure tangible results on the ground, and not a “formal presence.”
He pointed out that bin Brik held a series of intensive meetings, including a meeting with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, which he described as “fruitful and encouraging” to support Yemen’s economic and humanitarian stability.
The source revealed ongoing contacts by the Prime Minister with Yemen’s partners, especially the countries of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and international donor organizations, to enhance urgent support in the areas of “halting the sharp collapse of the Yemeni riyal exchange rate, resuming the payment of civil and military sector salaries, addressing the worsening electricity crisis, and alleviating living burdens with the approach of Eid al-Adha.”
In response to questions about the delay in his return, the source stated that “the Prime Minister is aware of the citizens’ suffering, and his preoccupation over the past days has been focused on finding radical solutions away from media rhetoric,” stressing that the coming days will witness “positive transformations,” and he will not return to Aden except “carrying tidings of a real breakthrough, especially in the salary and electricity files.”
The source emphasized the Yemeni government’s and its political leadership’s confidence in the support of the brothers in the coalition and international partners to confront the economic collapse that threatens to exacerbate famine, warning that the collapse of the riyal could lead to humanitarian disasters with dire consequences, calling for urgent intervention to save the Yemeni people from a terrifying scenario whose chapters are becoming more severe day by day.
This comment comes in conjunction with escalating protests in the temporary capital, Aden, and Abyan Governorate due to the deterioration of services, most notably electricity outages and the collapse of the currency to an unprecedented level, which has led to rising prices.
