EU delegation arrives in Aden to discuss its efforts to improve Yemen's economy
Feb 06, 2021
Aden [Yemen], February 6 (ANI/Sputnik): A high-level EU delegation has arrived in the Yemeni city of Aden to hold talks with the country's internationally recognized government, a source told Sputnik on Saturday.
According to the source, the delegation includes the head of the EU mission in Yemen, as well as ambassadors of France, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Sweden, Germany and Finland to the Middle Eastern country.
The European diplomats are set to hold a meeting with Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalek and discuss the EU's support for the government actions and efforts to improve the country's economy, as well as normalize the situation in both the provinces controlled by the government and areas under the control of the Houthi rebels.
The Middle Eastern nation has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels for over six years now. The former is backed by a military coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia.
In mid-December, Hadi announced the creation of a new power-sharing government consisting of 24 ministers in line with the terms of the Riyadh peace deal concluded with Yemen's separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in November 2019. The new cabinet is supposed to sit in the temporary capital of Aden, as the official capital of Sanaa has been under the control of the Shia rebel Houthi movement since September 2014. Under the agreement, the STC should also return military facilities and state institutions seized in southern Yemen to the legitimate authorities. (ANI/Sputnik)