Yemeni President, British Envoy Discuss Preparations for International Donor Conference

Yemen Monitor / Newsroom: Rashad Al-Alimi, Chairman of Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, met Sunday in Riyadh with Stephen Doughty, the UK Minister of State for the Middle East, to discuss bilateral cooperation, joint efforts to counter threats posed by the Houthi movement, and preparations for an upcoming international donor conference for Yemen scheduled for late November. According to a statement issued by the Yemeni Presidency, the meeting focused on escalating Houthi attacks against civilian infrastructure, airports, and residential areas in Yemen, as well as cross-border strikes targeting Saudi Arabia and ongoing threats to international shipping routes in the Red Sea and adjacent waterways. Al-Alimi urged the international community to adopt a more decisive stance against these threats, calling on the United Kingdom to lead efforts in rallying global support to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization and to initiate legal measures to ban the group under UK domestic legislation. “Protecting international navigation requires more than countering incoming attacks; it demands addressing the root causes of the threat and supporting Yemeni state institutions to restore sovereignty over their territory and territorial waters,” Al-Alimi stated. He further emphasized the need to dismantle Houthi financing and arms-smuggling networks while imposing strict controls on the flow of dual-use technology and components. Combining political, legal, and security measures, he noted, is essential to curtailing the group’s capabilities and regional threats. Addressing humanitarian conditions, the Yemeni president highlighted rights violations attributed to the Houthis, pointing to the recent death under torture of a staff member from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the continued detention of over 70 UN personnel. He added that the group continues to obstruct initiatives aimed at relieving humanitarian distress. Al-Alimi commended Saudi Arabia’s sustained support for Yemen, particularly the humanitarian and developmental interventions carried out by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) and the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY), notably in Taiz and other governorates. For his part, Doughty reaffirmed the United Kingdom’s commitment to supporting the Yemeni people and their political leadership across the political, security, economic, and humanitarian spheres, while backing government efforts to restore security and stability. The British minister briefed Al-Alimi on plans to step up UK assistance to mitigate the impact of the humanitarian crisis, outlining ongoing preparations for the international support conference for Yemen later this month to ensure its success and broaden the economic and humanitarian response. The post Yemeni President, British Envoy Discuss Preparations for International Donor Conference appeared first on Yemen Monitor.