Yemeni PLC head’s visit to Egypt seeks to establish new phase of cooperation: Amb. tells et

CAIRO - 11 June 2022: Yemeni Ambassador to Cairo Mohammed Marem said the visit of the head of Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Rashad Al-Alimi to Egypt seeks to establish a new phase of firm and fruitful cooperation.

In remarks to Egypt Today, Marem said Alimi’s visit also aims to expand cooperation between the two countries in various fields and benefit from the Egyptian expertise in this regard.

Yemen aspires for the expansion of investment and trade exchange with Egypt and for the engagement of the Egyptian companies in the reconstruction of Yemen, especially amid the urban development Egypt is witnessing under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Marem said.

Alimi’s visit also aims to try to find means of bringing peace to Yemen and end the suffering of the Yemeni people, Marem added.

The Yemeni ambassador hailed Egypt’s stances to support Yemen at all levels and to provide care to the Yemeni community in Egypt.

Alimi arrived on Friday night to Cairo coming from Bahrain as part of a foreign tour for the head of the PLC, which was introduced in April to succeed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

President Sisi received on Saturday morning Alimi at Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo but Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi has not yet revealed further details.

In April, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi conceded power to the eight-member PLC led by Alimi in an effort to stabilize the country and face the Houthis.

Since then, Yemen has seen a relatively quiet situation in light of a UN-sponsored truce between the Yemeni internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, which have been fighting since 2015.

Egypt has welcomed the truce, expressing hope that this truce would contribute to supporting political solutions and efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement for the crisis in Yemen.

Late in May, Alimi praised Egypt's efforts under President Sisi to host thousands of Yemenis in light of the ongoing war, Yemen News Agency (SABA) reported.

Egypt last month also announced allowing direct flights between Cairo and Sanaa for the first time since the conflict started, a step that has been hailed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Early in June, US President Joe Biden hailed the role played by each of Egypt, Jordan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia in making the UN-led truce in war-torn Yemen possible.

In a statement on the UN-mediated truce extension in Yemen, Biden hailed the decision made by Egypt and Jordan last month to open their airports to flights from Yemen “thereby enabling a key component of the truce process”.