Al-Khanbashi urges unified effort among Hadramout, Shabwa and al-Mahrah leaders
Yemen Herald News 
MUKALLA, Yemen — A member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council met officials and community leaders from three eastern governorates on Thursday and called for closer coordination between them.
Salem al-Khanbashi, who is also the governor of Hadramout, held the meeting in Mukalla, according to Saba, Yemen’s state news agency.
Those attending came from Hadramout, Shabwa and al-Mahrah.
The group included officials, dignitaries, community leaders and social figures, Saba said.
Al-Khanbashi stressed the importance of unifying efforts and strengthening the spirit of cooperation and integration among the people of the governorates.
He said social figures, community leaders, dignitaries and notables had a role in supporting the work of local authorities.
That role extended to consolidating security and stability, serving citizens and advancing development across various sectors, he said.
The meeting addressed issues and challenges facing the three governorates, according to Saba.
It also covered the integration of official and community efforts in addressing them.
Participants discussed strengthening communication between local leaders and social figures, the agency said.
The stated aim was to support stability, improve public services and address priority issues.
Those attending expressed appreciation for al-Khanbashi’s work, Saba reported.
They stressed the importance of maintaining communication and consultation, and of exchanging views on issues of common concern.
The account of the meeting rests on Saba’s report. Yemen Herald found no independent account of it published elsewhere.
Saba did not say how many people attended. Nor did it name the officials present.
Al-Khanbashi was appointed to the Presidential Leadership Council by its chairman, Rashad al-Alimi, under Decree No. 4 of 2026, Yemen Monitor reported in January.
The decree also appointed Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Ahmed Salem al-Subaihi to the council, according to the same report.
Al-Khanbashi kept his post as governor of Hadramout.
In May, he chaired an expanded meeting in Mukalla that discussed a draft to establish a Supreme Coordination Council of Hadrami Factions and Components, Yemen Monitor reported.
Leaders of political parties and community groups attended that meeting, along with members of the House of Representatives and the Shura Council.
The draft described the proposed body as a coordination framework for active groups inside and outside Hadramout, with the aim of improving security, stability and good governance.
It would leave existing factions in place rather than replace them, according to the report.
The report named the National Hadramawt Council, the Hadramawt Tribal Alliance and the Hadramawt Council of Elders as bodies seeking to represent the governorate.
Participants called for continued dialogue to refine the draft.
Yemen Herald found no published confirmation that the proposed council has since been established.
Also in May, representatives of a workshop in Mukalla handed al-Khanbashi a document titled Hadramawt: Vision and Decision, Yemen Monitor reported.
The workshop was organised by the National Democratic Institute, according to the report.
The document sets out to unify Hadrami positions on national issues ahead of any political conference or dialogue.
It is described as a framework for defending the governorate’s political and development rights, and for ensuring fair participation in shaping the country’s future.
Yemen Monitor did not say whether the local authority had adopted the document.
Al-Khanbashi met a delegation from the General Command of the Hadramawt Protection Forces in Mukalla in May, Yemen Monitor also reported.
The delegation was led by Sheikh Amr bin Habrish.
Al-Khanbashi said the local authority and the Presidential Leadership Council were working to arrange the force’s status, according to that report.
He called for efforts to unify the institutional structure of the armed forces.
The meeting discussed carrying out an agreement signed on 3 December 2025 between the Hadramout local authority and the Hadramawt Tribal Alliance under Saudi sponsorship, Yemen Monitor said.
It also covered deploying committees to register and frame personnel.
The Hadramawt Protection Forces support security and police units on the governorate’s coast, according to the same report.
Yemen Monitor said its account of that meeting came from the forces’ own media centre.
Al-Khanbashi proposed a joint committee to assess damage from clashes in December with the Southern Transitional Council, which Yemen Monitor described as backed by the United Arab Emirates.
Yemen Herald found no Southern Transitional Council response to that proposal.
Al-Khanbashi discussed efforts to restore state institutions with the German ambassador this week, Saba reported.
Thursday’s meeting took place during a government offensive against the Houthis.
Al-Alimi announced the start of military operations to retake Houthi-held territory on 4 October, Arab News and Asharq Al-Awsat reported. The operation has been named Dawn of Yemen.
Government forces took control of the Bab al-Mandab strait, Al Arabiya reported, and the government said an advance toward Sanaa had begun.
The Houthis dispute the government’s account of that advance.
CNN reported on 4 October that Saudi-backed Yemeni forces had attacked Houthi positions near the Red Sea shipping route.
Hadramout, Shabwa and al-Mahrah lie in eastern Yemen. Yemeni military statements have placed the heaviest concentration of operations around Taiz, in the south-west.
Saba’s report on Thursday did not mention either the document or the proposed coordination council.
Saba did not link the Mukalla meeting to the offensive.
The agency filed its report from Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout.
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