ADEN — Prime Minister of Yemen Dr. Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed has lauded Saudi efforts to bring peace and prosperity the war-ravaged country.

The premier said that Saudi Arabia was a partner to Yemen in peace and in times of distress, gave Yemenis hope for stability, and supported peace in all parts of Yemen as he welcomed a delegation from the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) at the presidential palace in the temporary Yemeni capital, Aden.

"Two years ago, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi held their first discussion on strengthening Yemen's economy with a $2 billion deposit, a grant of oil derivatives, and other reconstruction and development initiatives," said Maeen Saeed, indicating that the Saudi deposit had played a major role not only in financial stabilization and support for the exchange rate of the Yemeni rial to the US dollar in a country that had witnessed war for five years.

"The deposit also helped the Central Bank of Yemen and opened financial letters of credit for commodities that have reached every home in Yemen, and many remain unaware of this."

The prime minister praised SDRPY's ever-evolving efforts, noting that the government of Yemen and the program were holding regular meetings and working closely together.

The delegation headed by Projects and Studies Director Eng. Hasan M. Alattas visited Yemen to identify ways of implementing development projects in line with the Riyadh Agreement economic development track. — SG