Barran Press
U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Stephen Fagin and Sultan Al-Aradah, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, have agreed on the necessity of political unity to tackle Yemen's economic and security challenges.
The agreement was reached during a virtual meeting between Ambassador Fagin and Major General Al-Aradah, as stated in a brief announcement from the U.S. Embassy on social media platform X, which was noted by "Barran Press."
The statement highlighted discussions on the latest developments in Marib province, located in northeastern Yemen. Both parties concurred that "political unity is essential to address the economic, security, and political challenges facing Yemen."
Last Thursday, Ambassador Fagin also met with another member of the Presidential Leadership Council, Othman Majli, to discuss support for development, the economy, the Yemeni currency, and efforts to combat terrorism and money laundering, according to the official Yemeni news agency Saba.
During these discussions, they addressed recent Houthi attacks on oil facilities in Hadramaut and Shabwa provinces, as well as attempts to target the Marib oil facility, which Majli attributed to "Iranian directives," emphasizing the need to end Iranian interference in Yemen and the Arab region for true peace.
Yemen is grappling with a severe monetary crisis, exacerbated by the depreciation of its local currency, with the exchange rate for the rial plummeting to an all-time low against foreign currencies in Aden and other government-controlled areas. The dollar has surpassed 2,000 rials, up from 1,676 rials in late April, while the Saudi rial is now trading at 524 rials, compared to 441 rials previously.
The Yemeni economy faces significant challenges due to the monetary division enforced by the Houthi group, which has intensified after the group targeted oil export ports in October of last year, obstructing the internationally recognized government from exporting oil.