New Yemen government formed with Shaya Mohsin al-Zindani as prime minister
Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Council has issued a decree to form a new government, with Shaya Mohsen al-Zindani confirmed as the country’s prime minister.
Al-Zindani will also continue to serve as foreign minister, the official Saba news agency reported on Friday.
Last month, the council accepted the resignation of former Prime Minister Salem bin Breik and asked al-Zindani to form a cabinet.
The new 34-member cabinet includes 10 ministers from the previous government and three women, Saba reported.
Marwan Faraj bin Ghanim was appointed Minister of Finance, while Mohamed Abdullah Ali was confirmed as Minister of Oil. Taher Ali al-Uqaili will be defense minister, according to the presidential decree.
The formation of the government follows months of consultations held in Riyadh, aimed at easing tensions between the Yemeni government and southern Yemen’s main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which announced its dissolution on January 9.
In December, the STC – which Saudi Arabia says is supported by the United Arab Emirates – took control of areas in southern and eastern Yemen, advancing “to the Saudi border, which the kingdom considered a threat to its national security.” Since then, Saudi-backed fighters have largely retaken these areas.
The two Gulf states have recently faced friction over many other issues, from geopolitics to oil production.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had previously worked together in a coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen’s civil war, which has led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said last month that recent political and security developments – particularly in the south – underline how quickly stability could collapse without a credible and inclusive political process.
Speaking to the UN Security Council last month, Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the humanitarian sector at the UN aid coordination office, said the crisis in Yemen was worsening as needs grew and humanitarian access had become more restricted due to the funding gap.
More than 18 million Yemenis – around half the population – will face acute food insecurity in February, while tens of thousands more could fall into “catastrophic hunger”, facing famine-like conditions, he warned.
“Humanitarian action saves lives,” Rajasingham said, “but when access is hampered and funding diminishes, these gains are quickly reversed.”
