Saudi crown prince reaffirms support for Yemen’s government in Shura Council address
Yemen Herald News 
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government on Wednesday, in the annual royal address to the Shura Council.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman delivered the address on behalf of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. It opened the third year of the council’s ninth session.
The crown prince said the kingdom would keep backing the Yemeni government through the Saudi-led coalition as it works to extend state authority across the country and restore stability, the state news agency Saba reported.
Saba gave the coalition’s name as the Coalition to Support Legitimacy. Arab News rendered it as the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy.
He said that support covered confronting attacks by the Houthis. Arab News reported that he described the group as Iran-backed.
The crown prince said the Houthis had chosen chaos and destruction, and threats to the Yemeni people and the region, as their path. Saba and Al Jazeera both carried that wording.
Saba reported that he called them terrorist militias. The Houthis reject that characterisation and describe themselves as a national movement.
On the kingdom’s own security, he said Saudi Arabia would not hesitate to respond decisively to any threat or attack aimed at undermining it.
He said recent attacks on Gulf states had shown that Gulf security and stability were indivisible, according to Arab News.
The address also covered maritime security. The crown prince said the kingdom had established a multinational maritime defence alliance.
He said the alliance was intended to strengthen maritime security, protect shared interests in international waterways, and reject their use as instruments of political or economic pressure.
Houthi forces have attacked merchant shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since late 2023. The group has said those attacks are tied to the war in Gaza.
The crown prince cited the joint defence agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan. He said it reflected the three countries’ joint efforts to promote security and stability in the region.
Al Jazeera reported that the agreement, known as the Mecca pact, was formalised in August.
He said the kingdom was making every possible effort to de-escalate tensions and to support diplomatic solutions.
On Gaza, the crown prince condemned attacks against Palestinians and called on the international community to work towards a lasting political settlement.
He also set out economic figures. Arab News reported that he said non-oil exports had grown 155 percent since 2016, and that the private sector now accounted for 51 percent of the economy under the Vision 2030 programme.
He said the attacks that targeted all Gulf Cooperation Council states showed that Gulf security and stability could not be separated, The Peninsula reported.
The crown prince named two bodies the kingdom had established. One was the Makkah defence alliance. The other was the multinational maritime defence alliance.
He called on the international community to act urgently to secure humanitarian aid access and to support efforts to reduce tensions.
On Palestine, he restated Saudi backing for Palestinian statehood through international frameworks and opposed Israeli military action in Gaza.
Saba’s report of the address dealt only with its Yemen section. The wider speech was carried by Al Jazeera, Arab News and The Peninsula.
The address was reported directly by Saba, Al Jazeera, Arab News and Saudi Gazette.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition in Yemen since March 2015, when it intervened in support of the government after Houthi forces took the capital, Sanaa.
Yemen’s government has been run since April 2022 by the Presidential Leadership Council, chaired by Rashad al-Alimi. The council operates from Aden and from Riyadh.
The Houthis hold Sanaa and much of Yemen’s north and west. The government and its allies hold Aden, Marib and parts of the south and east.
The Saudi-led coalition said on 25 September that it had intercepted six Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu. That account rests on the coalition.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says more than 22 million people in Yemen need assistance this year.
Its March plan put the number of acutely food insecure at 18.3 million. It recorded more than 2.2 million children under five as acutely malnourished, 516,157 of them severely.
The plan counts 5.2 million displaced people. It seeks 2.16 billion dollars to reach 12 million of those in need.
The Shura Council is an appointed body. It advises the king and reviews draft laws.
The accounts published by Saba and Arab News recorded no new Saudi commitment of money or troops for Yemen, and no timetable for the government to extend its authority.
The Presidential Leadership Council took over from President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who transferred his powers to it in April 2022.
Houthi forces have held Sanaa since September 2014. The Saudi-led intervention began six months later.
Yemen’s foreign minister is Afrah al-Zouba, appointed by republican decree on 24 July. She is the first woman to hold the post.
The European Union runs a naval mission in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Aspides, which escorts merchant vessels.
The Shura Council has 150 members. They are appointed by the king.
About the Author
