Saudi Arabia Pledges $3 Billion to Cover Salaries for Yemeni Forces and Government Employees
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom / Agencies:
Reuters reported, citing Yemeni and Western officials, that Saudi Arabia has allocated approximately $3 billion this year to cover the salaries of state employees and military forces in Yemen. This includes about $1 billion designated for southern fighters whose salaries were previously covered by the United Arab Emirates.
According to officials, the Saudi support aims to ensure the regular payment of salaries and contribute to reorganizing the security and administrative landscape in areas under the control of the Yemeni government.
In the same context, Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani told Reuters that Saudi Arabia has cooperated with the Yemeni government and expressed its readiness to pay all salaries in full. He noted that this support would allow Yemen to reorganize armed factions and place them under state authority.
Reuters added, quoting informed officials, that Riyadh seeks to achieve a “success story” in regions controlled by the Yemeni government amid efforts to bolster stability and improve institutional performance.
On the other hand, the agency quoted an Emirati official stating that Abu Dhabi had allocated significant resources over more than a decade to improve security and humanitarian conditions in Yemen. He emphasized that following the withdrawal of Emirati forces, his country is no longer involved in the Yemeni file in any capacity.
Officials told Reuters that the total financial bill assumed by Saudi Arabia to support Yemen could exceed $4 billion during this year alone.
In a related context, the New York Times reported, citing Yemeni officials, that Saudi Arabia has pledged to cover the salaries of all Yemeni government employees, both civil and military. This step is described as a significant shift in the mechanism of financial support provided to Yemen after years of war and institutional division.
According to the newspaper, this Saudi financial commitment is estimated at more than $1 billion annually, reflecting Riyadh’s assumption of an additional burden in the government salary file after the UAE had previously been responsible for paying the salaries of certain loyalist factions and fighters under different support arrangements.
The New York Times clarified that the new Saudi funding is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, quoting two Yemeni officials familiar with the plan who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the details and the lack of an official announcement so far.
