Riyadh, Aden – Yemeni President Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi called for activating the United Kingdom-led Association of Friends of Yemen to support Yemeni people and meet their urgent needs, during a meeting on Thursday with UK’s ambassador Simon Shercliff in Riyadh.

Hadi discussed with the ambassador a number of issues of common concern, including the current situation in Yemen and possible prospects of peace, according to the official Saba news agency.

The two officials reviewed developments in the country on the different levels.

The Yemeni president pointed out to the efforts deployed by the government to regularize the living and economic conditions and to provide citizens with basic services, including electricity, water, health, education and roads.

“Despite all the challenges, efforts are persistent and continuous so as to achieve the aspirations of the Yemeni people to lay the foundations of peace and stability through the relevant international resolutions,” Hadi said, underlining the importance of the support provided by coalition states and the positions of the permanent countries in the UN Security Council.

He also urged Britain to activate the UK-led Friends of Yemen, which was established in January 2010 at a meeting of ministers in London to help bolster international political support for Yemen and to assist Yemeni-led efforts to tackle the underlying causes of instability.

Shercliff, for his part, stressed Britain’s support for Yemen and its constitutional legitimacy and the importance of coordination in international forums to unite efforts and activate areas of joint cooperation.