conference for Yemen''s donors ... 66 countries and 15 organizations are laying out the 2020 humanitarian response plan ... The Saudi ambassador: We have provided $ 17 billion to Yemen ...

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in cooperation with the United Nations, is leading this afternoon, Tuesday, the Yemen donors ’conference to lay down the humanitarian response plan for the current year, amid Yemeni, Gulf and Arab aspirations for the success of the conference in mobilizing the necessary support to fund the humanitarian response plan aimed at supporting millions of Yemenis, in terms of food, medicine, services and development.

The conference aims to raise awareness of the humanitarian situation in Yemen and call for the contribution of the international community to meet the United Nations humanitarian response plan in Yemen for the current year, and to support urgent humanitarian needs there.

While the United Nations aspires to produce good results in terms of announcing pledges by donors, the United Nations affirms that the lack of the required funding will lead to a reduction in nutritional supplements for 1.7 million children and pregnant women, which may result in deaths from preventable causes, in addition to the need for The World Food Program to $ 200 million a month to finance its programs.

The United Nations confirmed that about 80 percent of the Yemeni people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.

And that the scale of the needs is staggering, and that the Corona virus, confirmed in Yemen since April and spreading rapidly, threatens to exacerbate the disaster, as more than 200 humanitarian organizations work together to help more than 13 million Yemenis who are in need of funding.

The participants

More than 126 entities participate in the conference, including 66 countries, 15 international organizations, 3 intergovernmental organizations and more than 39 non-governmental organizations, in addition to the Islamic Development Bank, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The Kingdom’s delegation to the conference is headed by Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the advisor at the Royal Court includes the General Supervisor of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabiah, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for various international affairs, Dr. Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al-Rassi, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Ambassador to Yemen. The Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen, Muhammad Al Jaber, the Assistant General Supervisor of the King Salman Center for Relief for Planning and Development, Dr. Aqeel bin Jamaan Al-Ghamdi, and the Assistant General Supervisor of the King Salman Center for Relief for Operations and Programs, Eng. Ahmed bin Ali Al-Beez.

Arab hopes

The organization of the donors conference for Yemen is an affirmation of the pioneering role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support Yemen and alleviate the human suffering of the brotherly Yemeni people.

The Kingdom calls upon countries and donors to take initiative and support efforts aimed at the success of this humanitarian conference, by standing with Yemen and its people.

At a time when the United Nations agencies have high hopes for the success of the conference in providing adequate funding for its existing programs in Yemen, Saudi Arabia has announced that it will provide half a billion dollars through donor pledges in the context of its support for this year''s response plan, in addition to the programs that it is financing directly.

The Arab League: An important initiative

On the other hand, the League of Arab States praised the organization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in partnership with the United Nations, after tomorrow, Tuesday, the donors conference for Yemen 2020, to increase awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the announcement of financial pledges to meet the basic needs there.

The Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector at the Arab League, Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, promised to organize the conference an important humanitarian initiative given Yemen''s need for support at all levels, especially in this difficult phase that the world is going through due to the Coronavirus.

She said, "Yemen is facing a major humanitarian crisis and needs support, whether it is from states or from international humanitarian and relief organizations of the United Nations." She drew attention to the fact that the League of Arab States has received many notes from the Yemeni side calling for support to face the difficult conditions that the Yemeni people live in, especially business. Related to humanitarian support.

She emphasized that the Arab League praises this initiative undertaken by the Kingdom in partnership with the United Nations, stressing the importance of the United Nations and the institutions concerned to accelerate support for the Kingdom''s humanitarian initiative.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf, expressed his aspiration that the donors conference for Yemen 2020 would contribute to mobilizing the efforts of international donors and standing with Yemen in a way that would contribute to restoring its security and stability, and providing basic services to face the grave economic, health and security challenges.

In a statement carried by "SPA", Al-Hajraf welcomed the Kingdom’s organization of the donors ’conference, in conjunction with the United Nations. He said that this confirms the pioneering role of Saudi Arabia to support Yemen and alleviate the human suffering of its people, an extension of the Kingdom''s generous contributions, as it is historically the first donor country to Yemen.

Al-Hajraf valued the great support provided by the Gulf Cooperation Council to Yemen and its people, as Gulf humanitarian and development aid constituted the largest part of all the aid that Yemen received during the past decades.

On the other hand, the President of the Arab Parliament, Dr. Meshaal bin Fahm Al-Salami, described the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia''s organization of this conference as an extension of its humanitarian and developmental contributions to support the Yemeni people and alleviate human suffering from them, and embody its pioneering role as the first supporter of Yemen and the largest financier of the United Nations humanitarian response plans.

He stressed the importance of holding the conference in light of the health and economic repercussions imposed by the Corona pandemic in order to help the Yemeni people and alleviate their suffering, noting that the conference comes as a continuation of the continuous support provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations humanitarian response plans in Yemen, the latest of which was the provision of an amount of 500 million Dollars to support the response plan, and the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action signed a number of contracts to provide the necessary needs of medical equipment and supplies to combat the spread of the new Corona virus in the Republic of Yemen.

A leading role for Saudi Arabia

The Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Muhammad bin Saeed Al Jaber, who is also the general supervisor of the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen, confirmed that the Kingdom is the largest donor to the humanitarian response plans in Yemen, whether to the United Nations or directly to Yemen. One billion direct support to the economy, and the Kingdom has implemented a large number of development and economic projects for the people of Yemen.

Al Jaber revealed in previous statements that the Kingdom will contribute $ 500 million to the United Nations humanitarian response plan for Yemen, including $ 25 million to combat the emerging corona virus.

He stated that the coalition will work side by side with the legitimate government to continue to facilitate and accelerate the procedures for the supply of food, medicine and vital energy materials through the port of Hodeidah to ensure that these supplies reach their intended destinations and to help the Yemeni people in these extraordinary global circumstances.

Ambassador Al Jaber pointed out that the Kingdom’s support to Yemen was not limited to providing food and humanitarian aid to millions of beneficiaries through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center and the rest of regional and international humanitarian organizations, but also to support the Central Bank of Yemen with $ 2.2 billion to improve the economic situation. And the stability of the Yemeni riyal exchange and support for the provision of basic foodstuffs.

Yemen: We count on the conference

In the same context, the Yemeni government is counting on the importance of holding a donor conference organized by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in partnership with the United Nations, to shed more light on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and in a way that contributes to the Yemeni government''s support for economic, relief, health and development files to reduce the spread of unemployment and provide livelihoods For citizens.

The Yemeni Minister of Information, Dr. Muammar Al-Aryani, said that Saudi Arabia''s role in supporting Yemen in humanitarian terms is still key, and the donors ’conference will contribute greatly to support international efforts to fund relief and humanitarian projects in Yemen, and he referred to the programs and projects it is providing in all provinces through the King Salman Relief and Business Center Humanitarian and Yemen Reconstruction and Development Program

For his part, Abdul Raqeeb Fateh, Minister of Local Administration, called on donor countries to actively contribute to financing relief and humanitarian programs, and to mobilize the necessary funding for humanitarian response projects, stressing the importance of international organizations benefiting from the sums provided by donors, by following the decentralization of relief work, evaluation and evaluation The performance of the previous stage, and the importance of strengthening the Yemeni economy by supporting the national currency and maintaining a sound monetary cycle led by the Central Bank of Yemen.

He also called on the international community to exert pressure on the Houthi coup militia to stop interfering in the humanitarian process and to allow UN and international organizations to implement their humanitarian programs and not be exposed to them.