Yemen gratitude for Egypt’s political efforts: Yemeni FM

CAIRO - 2 October 2017: Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met his Yemeni counterpart, Abdel Malek al-Mekhlafy, in Cairo on Monday, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

MFA spokesperson Ahmed Abou Zeid revealed that Shoukry and Mekhlafy stressed strong bilateral relations of both countries, as well as Egypt’s sincere endeavors to achieve stability and integrity of Yemen.

Mekhlafy expressed his country’s gratitude for Egypt’s political support given to Yemen at various international arenas, adding that “Yemen praises the Egyptian efforts exerted at the United Nations’ Human Rights Council in Geneva, as it presented the draft Arab resolution on human rights in Yemen and helped build the necessary consensus on it, so as to contribute to supporting and developing the capacities of the concerned Yemeni national commission.”

Abou Zeid added that the Yemeni minister also reviewed a number of issues with regard to the bilateral relations between the two countries and the situation of Yemenis residing in Egypt. He also briefed Shoukry in detail on the latest political and security developments on the Yemeni scene, as well as the results of his consultations with the various regional and international stakeholders in this regard. Shoukry underscored Egypt's support for the peaceful settlement efforts led by U.N. Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, pointing out the importance of urging all parties in the crisis to use their influence on the Houthis and Abdullah Saleh to return to negotiations and dealing positively with the proposed initiatives for solving the crisis.

Finally, the two ministers agreed to continue consultations over the coming period to follow up the efforts aimed at resolving the Yemeni crisis.