On Thursday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Britain expressed concern about the deteriorating economic situation in Yemen, at a time when the United Nations warned of a complete collapse in the country.
The official Saudi Press Agency said that the ambassadors of the four countries to Yemen held a meeting in the capital, Riyadh, to discuss the economic situation in Yemen.
The agency quoted a statement after the meeting, that the four countries “expressed their concern about the depreciation of the Yemeni riyal and the rise in food prices, and its severe impact on the Yemeni economy and the current humanitarian situation.”
The four countries called on the Yemeni government to “quickly take all necessary steps to start achieving economic stability in Yemen.”
The statement affirmed the commitment of the countries participating in the meeting to provide support to the Yemeni government, through the technical advisory committee on the economic aspect.
In their statement, the four countries stressed the “necessity of the Yemeni government’s return to Aden, due to its effective role in supervising future international support for economic recovery.”
In New York, the United Nations warned, Thursday, that “the Yemeni economy is on the verge of complete collapse, with more than half of the population suffering from acute food insecurity and five million people approaching famine.”
“The Yemeni economy is on the verge of complete collapse, as the Yemeni riyal is now trading at more than 1,100 against the dollar in government-controlled areas,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press conference.
“This contributes to rising food prices in a country where more than half of the population suffers from acute food insecurity and five million people are close to starvation,” he added.
Dujarric revealed preparations for holding a high-level conference hosted by Sweden, Switzerland and the European Union, to be held next Wednesday to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, on the sidelines of the General Assembly meetings.
“It is expected that (the conference) will announce new financial contributions,” the UN spokesman said.
