Yemeni Government Cancels Economic Measures Against Houthis

News

Tue, 23-07-2024 09:27 PM, Aden

Aden (South24)

Earlier today, the internationally recognized Yemeni government canceled the recent economic decisions against the Houthis, including the decisions of the Central Bank, after massive pressure exerted by Saudi Arabia and the UN Envoy.

A statement issued by the office of the UN Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said that the government and the Houthi group informed the envoy that they had agreed on several measures to reduce the escalation regarding the banking sector and Yemenia Airways.

The written text that Grundberg received from both parties included the following:

1. Cancelling all the recent decisions and procedures against banks by both sides and refraining in the future from any similar decisions or procedures.

2. Resuming Yemenia Airways’ flights between Sanaa and Jordan and increasing the number of flights to three daily flights, and operating flights to Cairo and India daily or as needed.

3. Meetings are convened to address the administrative, technical, and financial challenges faced by the company.

4. Initiating the convening of meetings to discuss all economic and humanitarian issues based on the roadmap.

“Grundberg recognized the significant role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in bringing this agreement about. He also expressed the UN's readiness to work with the parties to implement the measures they agreed. He additionally offered that his Office supports communication with the authorities of Jordan, Egypt, and India," the statement added.

In a statement released by Saba Agency, the Yemeni government welcomed the UN statement and said that it agreed to cancel the economic decisions in view of the suffering of the population in the areas of North Yemen controlled by the Houthis.

"We hope that the announced agreement will lead to creating conditions for a constructive dialogue to end the Houthi practices against the banking sector and the currency, and to implement the obligations contained in the roadmap, most notably the resumption of oil exports," the statement added.

But the Houthis announced that they had reached this agreement with Saudi Arabia only and did not mention the Yemeni government. The Houthis' Saba Agency quoted the Houthis' chief negotiator, Mohammed Abdul Salam, as saying that an agreement had been reached between Yemen and Saudi Arabia to address some humanitarian and economic issues.

The Houthis had threatened Saudi Arabia to bomb its ports, airports, and the central bank in Riyadh if it did not press to cancel the recent economic measures of the Yemeni government.

In what appears to be a protest move, the Governor of the Central Bank in Aden, Ahmed Al-Maqbi, submitted his resignation to the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) in a letter dated July 17, which was circulated today and was verified by the South24 Center.

However, the PLC refused the resignation, as Saba reported today. The agency claimed that Al-Maqbi changed his mind and decided to remain in the position.

During the past week, thousands of Yemenis protested in Hodeidah, Marib, and Taiz to show their support for the decisions of the Central Bank and to refuse to back down from them. Video polls carried out by the South24 Center in Aden, Hadramout, and Shabwa also showed great support for the Central Bank.

Citizens warned against retracting the decisions and described any step toward that as “treason.” The cancellation of economic decisions is likely to spark a wave of anger in areas under government control.

Experts had warned of a major crisis of confidence that would erupt among the population in government areas if the recent economic measures were withdrawn, especially with the collapse of the Yemeni riyal to a record level and the rise in food prices.

Although the government statement spoke about taking into account the conditions of the population in North Yemen, the economic and living conditions in South Yemen are very bad. Today, the price of the US dollar reached 1927 against the Yemeni riyal.

Last June, the Central Bank in Aden imposed sanctions on six commercial banks in violation of the decision to transfer the banks’ headquarters from Sanaa, which is controlled by the Houthis, to the capital, Aden.

The banking procedures coincided with decisions by the Ministry of Transport regarding the balances of Yemenia Airways in Sanaa and transferring them to Aden or to accounts abroad, and directives to the Ministry of Communications to transfer the headquarters of mobile phone companies as well.

The Houthis responded with punitive measures against a number of banks operating from Aden. The Central Bank in Aden was on its way to stop the SWIFT system from sanctioning banks before the Houthis began threatening to wage war against Saudi Arabia.

Related: PLC cease Central Bank’s measures against Houthis, senior government source

South24 Center was the only outlet to publish information about pressure on the PLC by Saudi Arabia to retract these measures, as well as the pressures of the UN Envoy, who wrote a letter to the PLC a few days ago demanding the postponement of economic measures.

Houthi members stand next to piles of local currency at an event held by the Houthis to collect funds for their fighters, Sanaa, September 24, 2020 (Reuters)

Yemeni Government Cancels Economic Measures Against Houthis