Riyadh, September 2, 2020
In presence and honor of His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khuraif, the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Yemen, the General Supervisor of the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen, His Excellency the Ambassador Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber, and the Secretary General of the Saudi Export Development Authority Eng. Saleh Shabab Al-Solami signed a memorandum of joint cooperation between the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen and the Saudi Export Development Authority at the Ministry's headquarters today.
The two sides were represented during the signing by the General Supervisor of the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen, Ambassador Muhammad bin Saeed Al Jaber, and the Secretary General of the Saudi Export Development Authority, Saleh Shabab Al-Solami.
This memorandum comes as an extension of the Kingdom's efforts to assist the Yemeni government in economic advancement, which will have a positive impact in achieving development and reconstruction in the Republic of Yemen, supporting the Yemeni economy, enhancing Saudi non-oil exports, and increasing the volume of trade exchange between the two countries.
The General Supervisor of the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen, Ambassador Muhammad bin Saeed Al Jaber, thanked His Excellency the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and the Secretary General of the Saudi Export Development Authority for their speedy response to the program and their interest in holding this memorandum, adding that it is part of a set of memoranda of understanding for the strategy to support the private sector in Yemen. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supported the sector with a number of tributaries, on top of which was the provision of $ 2.2 billion to the Central Bank of Yemen, which the country relied on to purchase food commodities from all over the world.
We in the program also seek cooperation with the private sector, Ambassador Al Jaber said, as a meeting was held last week with the Yemeni private sector conglomerate, and we also have meetings with the Saudi-Yemeni Business Council, as well as a vision for the integration of the private sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the private sector in Yemen. We rely on the private sector in Yemen to do a lot of work that helps in developing and creating job opportunities for the Yemeni brothers, and this is what the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia takes to care about. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his Crown Prince place utmost concern for our brothers in Yemen and for their security, stability and development as this work will contribute to stimulating the private sector and will help create many business opportunities, and there are many initiatives with the Saudi Export Development Authority as well as the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen that will contribute to stimulating the private sector and contribute to its support and ability to accelerate the entry of Saudi exports to Yemen as well as being in a way that will help the private sector to employ many Yemeni brothers and create job opportunities.
In turn, the Secretary-General of the Saudi Export Development Authority, Engineer Saleh Al-Solami, stated in light of the signing of this memorandum that it confirms the Kingdom's efforts in the development and reconstruction of Yemen, establishes an effective development partnership between the parties, and will contribute to the development of Saudi non-oil exports. As Saudi companies will be introduced to the program, its initiatives in Yemen, and the opportunities available to them therein. This will open new export channels for Saudi companies and allow the Saudi product to reach the promising Yemeni market by benefiting from the projects of this program, thus contributing to supporting Saudi companies and achieving economic development by increasing the percentage of non-oil exports.
Al-Solami also indicated that "SAUDI EXPORTS" will provide technical and advisory support to the program to contribute to the development and reconstruction of Yemen, and that the competent authorities in Yemen will help develop their export capabilities by transferring expertise and knowledge in the field of export to them, by raising awareness of export and introducing them to its mechanisms and procedures by providing some seats in sessions provided by "Saudi Exports" in order to develop Yemeni human capabilities and thus achieve economic development.
The joint cooperation memorandum comes as a unification of the Saudi efforts exerted in the comprehensive development process in Yemen, and work to achieving a living and economic balance for the Yemeni brothers, in addition to improving the quality of life through various projects and development programs that develop and improve the infrastructure and raise the level of capacities of local communities in Yemen.
The joint cooperation memorandum will provide the necessary support through coordination with the Yemeni government to raise the need for training and build the capabilities of specialists in the Republic of Yemen in the field of export, and the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen will contribute to transferring expertise and knowledge to specialists on the Yemeni side in the various Yemeni governorates in order to achieve the abundance of products and various goods needed by Yemeni markets. The Memorandum of Joint Cooperation will facilitate and accelerate its delivery to beneficiaries in Yemen due to the geographical proximity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to its Yemeni sister.
It should be noted that the volume of non-oil trade exchange between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen reached approximately SAR 16.2 billion during the past five years (2015-2019). While Saudi non-oil exports to the Republic of Yemen amounted to SAR 13.8 billion during the past five years (2015-2019), and in 2019 they reached nearly SAR 4 billion. The list of top exporting sectors was ranked by foodstuff sector with exports amounting to SAR 1.2 billion, followed by packaging sector with a value of SAR 520 million, and building materials and petrochemical sectors with values of SAR 464 and SAR 431 million, respectively, for the year 2019.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has exerted its efforts to support and strengthen the Yemeni economy and the brotherly Yemeni people by supporting the Central Bank of Yemen by depositing a deposit of two billion US dollars under the direction of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and contributing to stopping the drain of the Yemeni riyal against the dollar and maintaining its stability, so that the total of what was presented as a deposit to the Central Bank of Yemen is $ 3 billion. The Saudi deposit to the Central Bank of Yemen in 2018 increased the Yemeni GDP from $ 24.56 billion in 2017 to reach in 2018 to $ 27.59 billion, while in 2019 it reached $ 29.86 billion. It also contributed to the disbursement of bank credits to import basic commodities (oil, sugar, etc.) Wheat, milk, corn, rice), as appropriations disbursed amounted to $ 127,332,334.18, as of March 2020. The Kingdom also reduced the financial burdens on the Yemeni state budget by providing a grant of oil derivatives to operate power stations, which contributed to saving 20% of the Yemeni state budget, with the aim of strengthening the financial and economic situation in the sisterly Republic of Yemen, which will be reflected positively on living conditions of Yemeni citizens.
It is noteworthy that the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the brothers in Yemen went beyond providing relief, food, medical and shelter support to implementing development projects through the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen to provide job opportunities, improve daily life and improve basic services in Yemen.
The Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen has surpassed more than 188 projects in 7 main sectors: (health, energy, transportation, water, education, agriculture and fisheries, capacity building of government institutions) through its offices in Yemen, and in cooperation with the Yemeni private sector.
The Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen adopts best practices of development, reconstruction and intellectual leadership in the field of sustainable development in Yemen, in order to strengthen the historical, cultural and economic relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen.
The signing of this memorandum confirms the keenness of "Saudi Exports" to promote local industries and open new export channels for Saudi companies in the regional and international markets, and to complement the role through which "Saudi exports" seek to promote Saudi products and services and increase their market shares in global markets in line with The goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 related to diversifying sources of income and increasing the value of non-oil exports as a vital axis for achieving sustainable economic development.