Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has welcomed a request from Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council to host a conference in Riyadh aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis in southern Yemen. The conference is intended to bring together all southern Yemeni factions for comprehensive dialogue.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement Saturday expressing its support for the initiative. The ministry urged “all southern components to actively participate in the conference to develop a comprehensive vision for just solutions to the southern issue, fulfilling the legitimate aspirations of the southerners.”
According to the ministry, the statement was issued in response to a request from the Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, to hold an inclusive conference in Riyadh. This conference would provide a platform for all southern factions to engage in constructive dialogue.
The Saudi statement emphasized that the southern issue is “a just cause with historical and social dimensions, and the only way to address it is through dialogue within the framework of a comprehensive political solution in Yemen.”
“Extending from the close relationship between the two brotherly countries and the requirements of common interests under the current circumstances, and continuing the Kingdom’s efforts to support and enhance the security and stability of the Republic of Yemen and provide a conducive environment for dialogue, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the request of the Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council” to hold a conference in Riyadh, the statement added.
Earlier on Saturday, the Yemeni News Agency (SABA) reported that Chairman al-Alimi had submitted a request to Saudi Arabia to host a conference aimed at resolving the crisis in the south. Al-Alimi expressed his hope that the conference would include all southern components, forces, and figures without exception, including the Southern Transitional Council, “reflecting the diversity and pluralism of the south, preventing exclusion or marginalization, and avoiding repeating the injustices of the past.”
Al-Alimi stressed that resolving the southern issue cannot be monopolized by any single party or component or reduced to unilateral measures. He affirmed that the southern issue is a just and pivotal issue in the process of building the Yemeni state, stating that there is no dispute over the right of the people of the southern governorates to fair treatment that meets their legitimate aspirations, preserves their dignity and rights, and guarantees peaceful coexistence. The conference aims to address these critical issues.
