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Five International Incentives for a Yemeni Solution that Begins in Hodeida | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Sana’a airport on a visit to Sana’a, Yemen May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah REUTERS


London– UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announced on Wednesday five new incentives for a solution to the crisis in Yemen, which would begin in Hodeida port city.

Those incentives include, according to the international envoy, guarantying the delivery of raw and commercial material through Hodeida port, implementing a work mechanism to collect taxes and revenues, using revenues to pay salaries and providing basic services instead of funding the war. The fifth incentive entails the drafting of a national agreement that eases the sufferings of Yemen’s population.

Addressing the United Nations Security Council from Jordan via satellite, the international envoy welcomed Saudi Arabia’s consent on the need for the warring Yemeni parties to discuss the proposals in order to reach a solution to the crisis.

Sources in Ould Cheikh Ahmed’s office told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the parties have better accepted the latest proposals, compared to previous initiatives.

“There is no doubt that this agreement will require a clear mechanism to ensure the use of taxes and revenues in Sana’a, Hodeidah and all regions to pay salaries and activate state institutions in different provinces,” the envoy said.

The Yemeni government has supported the need to develop a program of action that guarantees the safe delivery of humanitarian and commercial materials and prevents the smuggling of weapons, and the misuse of taxes and revenues, he added.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed called on Houthi rebels and supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to “show goodwill and deal with the proposals constructively if they really want to end the war and improve the humanitarian situation.”

The Yemeni government, for its part, renewed its stance in support of the peaceful solution and the UN envoy’s efforts, in a statement published by the official Saba news agency on Wednesday.

The government welcomed the new initiatives presented by Ould Cheikh Ahmed and international efforts to bring peace to the country, stressing the need to abide by UN Security Council Resolution 2216, the outcome of national dialogue and the Gulf Initiative and its implementation mechanisms.

On a different note, UN Humanitarian Chief Stephen O’Brien said Wednesday that 7 million people were now “on the cusp of famine”, adding that there were more than 320,000 suspected cholera cases in the war-torn country.