Subsequent to the brief sent out on Wednesday, December 20 on the joint conference, which took place in Riyadh on addressing the humanitarian situation in Yemen; please find below, as a supplemental reference, the full transcript of Ambassador Mohammed Al Jabir, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen, which explicitly distills his comments.
Today, the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, along with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Yemen, spoke at a joint press conference in Riyadh to discuss details around a more comprehensive approach to relieve the suffering of the Yemeni people and address the humanitarian situation there with a long-term view. The full humanitarian response plan will be announced soon.
The statement details and overview can be found below, but there are three important points that we wanted to highlight:
In line with the Coalition’s continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to the Yemeni people; the Coalition Command announced that Hudaydah Port would continue to receive humanitarian relief supplies, and now, the Coalition will additionally allow the entry of commercial ships- including fuel and more food shipments- for a period of 30 days in order to implement the proposal of the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Yemen concerning Hudaydah Port.
Colonel Turki Al-Maliki, the Spokesman for the Coalition Forces to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, announced that today at approximately 1:39 P.M.; the Coalition Air Defense Forces monitored a ballistic missile launched from the Yemeni territories into the Kingdom's territories. The Spokesman highlighted in a statement that the missile was indiscriminately launched towards Riyadh; targeting civilian populated areas. He concluded that the missile was intercepted, south of Riyadh, without any damage or loss of life.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the United Nations’ report, which stressed that Iran's hostile interferences- as well as, its support to Houthi terrorist militias with advanced and dangerous missile capabilities- threatens the security and stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also welcomes the US stance announced by the US Ambassador to the United Nations, as well as, the US condemnation of Iran's hostile activities that support and arm terrorist groups, including Hezbollah and Houthi terrorist militias.
The Saudi Council of Ministers approved today details of the Citizen’s Account (CA) policy and confirmed that the first payment will be made to eligible Saudi households on December 21, 2017.
The Citizen’s Account is a national cash transfer program that was first announced by the Government in December 2016 and opened for registration in February 2017. It aims to increase the efficiency of government benefits distribution by targeting potentially vulnerable socioeconomic tiers in society.
The Board of Directors for the General Commission of Audio Visual Media, which is chaired by Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al Awwad- the Minister of Culture and Information, approved the issuances of licenses for those interested in opening cinemas in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Due to the media reporting on the da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi purchase, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. inquired from His Highness Prince Badr Al Saud’s office on the details related to the art piece’s purchase.