South Yemen: An Upcoming Historic Meeting in Aden

South Yemen's capital city Aden, is witnessing massive preparations for a consultative meeting that includes the Southern parties. Observers considered it the most important historical dialogue that the strategic port city will host on May 4.

The consultative meeting comes at the invitation of the Southern National Dialogue Committee, sponsored by the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

During the past hours, Aden received delegations from the governorates of Al-Mahrah and Shabwa, which included a number of sheikhs, tribal leaders, politicians, and representatives of prominent political and societal components. Delegations from the governorates of Hadramout, Abyan, Socotra, Lahj and Al-Dhalea will also arrive in the coming hours.

During the arrival of the delegation of the Al-Mahrah governorate, which border Oman, to Aden, the former governor of Al-Mahrah, Rageh Bakrit said "our presence in Aden is a message that Al-Mahrah is part of South's identity." "We must participate in the Southern dialogue because we want to represent the political demands of the people of Al-Mahrah," he added.

The expanded consultative meeting will result in the "Southern National Pact", and a mechanism will be established for dialogue on the remaining files during the next stage, according to the head of the External Dialogue Committee Ahmed Bin Fareed.

"We respect all other Southern opinions, despite the clear consensus on the independence project," Bin Fareed said in a statement.

This step comes after months of internal and external Southern dialogues led by committees formed by the STC President Major General Aidarous Al-Zubaidi since August to communicate with Southern individuals and entities.

The head of the Internal Southern Dialogue team, Saleh Al-Hajj, indicated that the consultative meeting "will include various spectrums of the people of South," pointing out that "it is considered the outcome of months of meetings and tours".

"South24 Center" had previously seen a draft of the "Southern National Pact", which is likely to be announced at the consultative meeting. The draft included general principles regarding South, its protection, and support for inter-regional dialogue to resolve differences.

These developments coincide with the restructuring plan of the STC, which is also expected to be announced soon. In a report by "South24 Center", an STC official revealed details of the move, which will include the military, political and security aspects. It is expected that prominent political components will join the framework of the STC.

In a previous symposium of South24 Center, the prominent Southern official, Ahmed Bin Fareed, indicated that the restructuring is on a path parallel to the Southern national dialogue.

The Southern dialogue is a remarkable progress in the field of peaceful solutions to the differences in South Yemen. This is likely to help the STC extend its control to other areas in South and strengthen its position before the region and the world.

The Southern dialogue will also contribute to the success of the peace process efforts for the broader conflict in Yemen.