For more than 30 months now, an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been fighting Al Houthi militias in Yemen that overthrew the legitimate and internationally recognised government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi. That coalition is acting on resolutions from the United Nations Security Council, and the UAE is proud to be playing a leading role in ensuring that Yemen is returned to peace and our Arab brothers enjoy stability and security now.
Last week, for example, the UAE Armed Forces destroyed an Al Houthi command and control centre in the Hais district of that troubled nation. Iran’s innocuous intervention in Yemen is making the military campaign more complex, and is also prolonging the suffering of our Arab brothers there. Conditions too have meant that many Yemenis live in areas where humanitarian services are stretched, resulting in illness and deprivation — all as a result of Al Houthi’s reckless and illegal acts.
But fiscally too, things are difficult in Yemen. Given the chaos caused when the legitimate government and its administration was simply swept aside and ripped apart by the Iranian-backed militias, the economy is near collapse.
It’s one thing to have a banking system and financial structure in place to ensure confidence in a currency in normal circumstances, a far different, difficult and challenging one when Al Houthis bring chaos and killing.
Our Arab brothers in Yemen have never been forgotten and can rest assured that in their hours and times of greatest need, they are not alone. Last week, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz ordered the immediate transfer of Dh7.2 billion to the new central bank in Yemen to ensure stability and confidence in the local currency and economic structure.
It is an immediate infusion that comes as a result of direct plea from Prime Minister Ahmad Obeid Bin Daghir, and one that will ease the economic effects caused by Al Houthis and their masters in Tehran.
Indeed, throughout, Al Houthi militias have simply treated the coffers of the previous central bank as if it were their own personal bank, undermining the banking system, bringing chaos to savers, and causing the near-collapse of the Yemeni rial as a result. Only a previous fiscal intervention of the international coalition in setting up an alternative central bank has saved the Yemeni currency. And we will continue to stand by our Arab brothers there.
