The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted here today the preparatory meeting on recovery and reconstruction in Yemen in the presence of Yemeni Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed bin Obeid bin Daghr in order to exchange views and review the readiness of countries and regional and international donor organizations to participate in providing support, including financial support to start the process of recovery and reconstruction in Yemen. Upon directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the recommendation of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, the Ministry of Finance is entrusted in charge of the chairmanship and organization of this meeting which is considered as the beginning of the push of regional and international commitments to support the recovery and reconstruction process in Yemen in the short and medium terms within the current context of the crisis and the post-crisis era. The Minister of Finance, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan, delivered a speech welcoming the attendees, praising their serious commitment to work to help the Yemeni people regain their decent life. He further said, at the opening ceremony, that he is looking forward to having this meeting reach a common vision on what can be done to respond immediately to the food security crisis in Yemen, and the roles of States and organizations in providing the necessary needs for the Yemeni budget in the short term He pointed out that this meeting comes in confirmation of the agreement, which was made during the preparatory meeting held in Washington, DC on April 23, 2017 with the World Bank. Then, the World Bank's Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa, Dr. Hafez Ghanem, delivered a speech in which he expressed his happiness over the commitment of the international community to support the recovery and reconstruction process in Yemen, expressing the Bank's readiness for partnership with all to provide support and assistance to the Yemeni people. On his part, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of the Republic of Yemen, Dr. Mohammed Al-Saadi, delivered a speech in which he expressed thanks to the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the Arab coalition under the command of the Kingdom and to all other donors. Dr. Al-Saadi said that the overall security, political and humanitarian situation in Yemen due to the coup against legitimacy has witnessed an unprecedented deterioration in all aspects, pointing out that economic growth shrank by about 34% in 2015, and many economic activities stopped. He said that poverty increased by more than 60% among the population with about 16 million people are suffering from hunger and poverty while more than 50% of the population suffering from food insecurity and the lack of basic services, stressing that 22 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, as well as the displacement of more than 3 million people at home and abroad.
