SDRPY launches electricity, water management projects in Socotra, Yemen

The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) has launched a package of development projects in Socotra Governorate.

SDRPY has activated electricity services at Hadibu Station, which has a capacity of 3,750 kV, and at Qulansiyah Station (1,410 kV). Tariq Al-Zaidi, director of SDRPY in Socotra, said the Hadibu and Qulansiyah power plants to the same high international technical specifications as Saudi electricity stations.

Governor of Socotra Ramzi Mahrous said that the electricity stations would be of significant support to the province, which has suffered from frequent interruptions of electricity services and other difficulties.

Source: PRNewsfoto/Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen. SDRPY launches water management projects in Socotra, Yemen.

The programme is similarly dedicated to the production and management of water resources and has begun drilling three wells connected to the water network that serves about 30,000 beneficiaries. The freshwater production and management project addresses serious needs due to water shortages in the governorate, which suffers from a lack of water flow to homes and utilities, frequent cuts and scarcity. The project is expected to fulfil the need for potable water, as well as provide irrigation water for agriculture and livestock.

SDRPY donates second batch of fishing boats in Socotra, Yemen

The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) is distributing the second installment of fishing boats with modern engines in the Governorate of Socotra Archipelago, Yemen, in fulfilment of a project to provide 100 boats to fishermen affected by hurricanes and tropical conditions.

Three hundred fishermen will benefit from the delivery, which is aimed at contributing to the recovery of the fishing sector, improving family incomes, advancing self-sufficiency to achieve sustainable food production, and increasing productivity. It will also further a sustainable economic environment and increase job opportunities.

Source: PRNewsfoto/SDRPY. A fishing boat from the SDRPY.

"On behalf of all the people of the province, I extend my thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and his Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman," Socotra Governor Ramzi Ahmed Mahrous said during the inauguration ceremony.

The projects that KSA has offered the people of the province will remain forever in the minds of generations, the governor stressed, and said Socotrans would remain loyal to their Saudi brothers and sisters.

Saudi Forces Commander in Socotra Brigadier General Abdul Rahman bin Salman Al-Hajji confirmed that the project is an extension of those that KSA had earlier implemented in Socotra under the guidance of King Salman and the Crown Prince in support of all Yemeni provinces, with the direct participation of SDRPY Supervisor Ambassador Mohammed bin Saeed Al Jaber.

Al-Hajji explained that the boats being delivered had been manufactured in local Yemeni factories, according to special specifications to adapt them to conditions in the Socotra Archipelago.

The fisheries sector in Yemen provides employment opportunities for more than half a million individuals, who in turn support 1.7 million and make up 18% of the coastal population of 9.4 million. Fishing is thus a major source of income, an important sector for job creation, and a key contributor to the economy.

The high cost of boats, on which about 36,000 fishermen depend, represents a genuine challenge after prices jumped by 100% to 150%, in addition to 200% increase in engine prices. In 2018, the cost of an engine reached 3,900,000 Yemeni riyals (about US$15,400).

SDRPY operations are not limited to the fishermen of Socotra Archipelago, as the programme has supplied 100 boats to fishermen in Al-Mahra Governorate as well. Yemen's coastline stretches more than 2,500 km along three seas – Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea – and encompasses 10 governorates: Aden, Abyan, Hadhramaut, Hodeidah, Hajjah, Lahj, Taiz, Shabwah, Al-Mahra and Socotra.

SDRPY aims to achieve its development goals in alignment with the objectives of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14: "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development."

Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen team receives warm welcome

Source: PRNewsFoto/SDRPY. One of the meetings held by the SDPRY delegation with Yemeni officials.

HE the PM of Yemen, Dr Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed, has welcomed the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY) delegation headed by Projects and Studies Director Engineer Hasan M. Alattas at the temporary Yemeni capital, Aden.

Participants discussed ways to implement development projects in line with the Riyadh Agreement economic development track. The parties also exchanged updates of ongoing SDRPY projects, including the King Salman Medical and Educational City and Marib Airport.

PM Maeen Saeed said that this visit would have significant implications for every Yemeni, noting that KSA has been a partner to Yemen in peace and in times of distress, gave Yemenis hope for stability, and supported peace in all parts of Yemen.

"Two years ago, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and HE President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi held their first discussion on strengthening Yemen's economy with a US$2 billion deposit, a grant of oil derivatives, and other reconstruction and development initiatives," said HE Maeen Saeed. He indicated that the Saudi deposit had played a major role in financial stabilisation and support for the exchange rate of the Yemeni rial to the US dollar in a country that had witnessed war for five years.

"The deposit also helped the Central Bank of Yemen and opened financial letters of credit for commodities that have reached every home in Yemen, and many remain unaware of this," he said.

The programme's projects are strengthening Yemeni infrastructure. SDRPY is the first development organisation working to improve services and rehabilitate roads in the Yemeni province of Al-Jawf, for example. Aden General Hospital is being rehabilitated and funded by the Saudi Fund for Development under SDRPY supervision, while another SDRPY project prints textbooks which have already been distributed in several provinces.

KSA and UAE donate US$200 million for urgent humanitarian needs in Yemen

KSA and the UAE will provide US$200 million for urgent humanitarian assistance to Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.

The funding is part of a US$500 million donation that Imdaad announced in November 2018. Imdaad is an organised campaign of urgent assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people by meeting basic needs for food, nutrition, health and livelihoods in Yemen.

The initiative is in cooperation with UN agencies, and reaffirms the humanitarian stance of the coalition states, led by KSA and the UAE.

US$140 million has been allocated to the World Food Programme (WFP) to bridge the funding gap for food needs; US$40 million to UNICEF to address sanitation issues and malnutrition among children and mothers; and US$20 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) to help control cholera and to provide intravenous feeding fluids.

Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, KSA Advisor to the Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) said that the coalition, in particular KSA and the UAE, are striving to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people due to the Houthi militias' violations of the Stockholm Agreement and its recommendations and in exploitation of the crisis for their own military and political gains.

Dr Al Rabeeah added that the initiative is designed for rapid implementation and delivery to the areas most in need, with a special focus on the most vulnerable groups such as women and children.

He further stated that KSA and the UAE are keen to implement an urgent programme with partners – particularly WFP, UNICEF and WHO – to mitigate malnutrition, health as well as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in Yemen and help to avert famine and the epidemic diseases associated with it.

HE Reem Al Hashimy, UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, stated that a large portion of this support will focus on women, which is crucial to foreign aid programmes because of their prominent and pivotal role in providing efficient assistance and promoting the building of the social structure.

She pointed to the difficulties that hinder the delivery of aid to Yemen, mainly due to obstacles put in place by the Houthis, such as preventing beneficiaries from gaining proper access to humanitarian aid. The Minister said the timing of the support has been chosen to meet urgent needs and to ensure the delivery of aid assistance in the coming weeks to allow the Yemeni people to maintain their traditions and to carry out the practices for Ramadhan.

She also called for respect of the peace agreements so that work could begin on rebuilding Yemen.

This initiative is in addition to the two countries' previous pledges of US$1 billion, and US$250 million provided by Kuwait. The earlier pledges were announced at the UN’s High- level Pledging Event for Yemen on 26 February 2019, and was the largest grant in the history of the UN. Financial support for Yemen from the coalition countries, led by KSA and the UAE, surpassed US$18 billion in the past four years.

Yemeni Hajj pilgrims receive food at Al-Wadiah crossing

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) is providing 2,500 meals daily for Yemeni Hajj pilgrims at the Al-Wadiah Border Crossing in the Najran region of KSA in conjunction with the Higher Committee for Relief in Yemen and the KSA Ministry of Endowments and Guidance.

The Al-Wadiah Border Crossing hosted the first batch of Yemeni Hajj pilgrims on 1 August.

Islamic Development Bank and OECD commit to rebuilding efforts in post-conflict Yemen

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have signed an aide-mémoire marking the commencement of a new project to help rebuild institutional capacitates in post-conflict Yemen.

The project, Building Institutional Capacities to Prepare for Recovery and Reconstruction in Yemen, is funded by the G7 Deauville Partnership MENA Transition Fund. It builds on the government of Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference Outcomes, first adopted in 2014, which represents a roadmap to building a new Yemen whereby citizenship, justice and the rule of law are achieved in accordance with principles of good governance.

The project is being implemented by the IsDB and the OECD in close coordination with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Yemen. It aims to translate the outcomes into actionable programmes for when peace arrives in Yemen to aid the country’s recovery by focusing on building institutional capacities at the central and local level.

HE Dr Mohamed Saed Al-Sadi, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Yemen and Yemen Governor of IsDB, said: “Yemen is experiencing multidimensional crises – economic, social and humanitarian. Negative economic growth and high unemployment, the degradation of basic services and rising food insecurity has displaced millions of Yemenis in a devastating war.

“Together with the OECD, MENA Transition Fund, government of Yemen and our partners in the international community, we are launching this project to help establish a safe and prosperous Yemen by preparing for its reconstruction and recovery as soon as peace emerges. I also want to commend the efforts of our regional and international partners for their support with the ongoing humanitarian and economic situation in Yemen.”

A signing for the extension to the Framework Agreement for the Business Resilience Assistance for Value-Adding Enterprises (BRAVE) Project also took place at the event after the approval of additional financing of US$3 million by the MENA Transitional Fund of the Deauville Partnership.

KSRelief distributes aid and iftar meals in Yemen

The Riyadh-based King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has distributed housing aid in Sana'a, Al-Bayda, Luhaj, and Taiz governorates in Yemen to 42,579 beneficiaries, says the Saudi Press Agency.

Nine hundred iftar meals were also distributed in Abyan to 800 displaced people and 100 hospital patients. KSRelief aims to serve 264,080 iftar meals targeting 13 Yemeni governorates on 24 Ramadhan. A further 1,300 iftar meals were given out in Shabwah to displaced people, and 1,245 meals to 250 displaced people, 250 people with special needs, 570 hospital patients, and 175 students in Ma'rib.

The moves are part of the 262 humanitarian initiatives to support Yemeni people, which have so far reached 262.

Over 700,000 pilgrims have arrived in KSA for Hajj

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has reported that Hajj arrival statistics from the KSA General Authority of Civil Aviation. As of August 14, 705,000 pilgrims have arrived to perform Hajj 2017.

As directed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince, King Abdulaziz International Airport and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport have both stepped up on preparations to receive the growing number of pilgrims.

The SPA separately reported that the National Pilgrim-Guides Foundation for Arab countries received the vanguard of 4,500 Yemeni pilgrims in Makkah. They were received by the Yemeni Minister of Endowments and Guidance and Head of Yemeni Hajj Mission Dr Ahmed Atiyyah.

Dr Atiyyah commended the directives of the KSA government and the services to receive pilgrims. He said the full complement of Yemeni pilgrims should be in KSA by Dhulhijjah 2, 1438, estimated to be around 24 August 2017.

According to the SPA, the Turkish pilgrims guiding foundation has adopted the offered electronic guidance system for the Hajj. Traditionally, a leader guides a delegation at his discretion. With the electronic system, all movement to the Hajj rituals is systematic and organised.

In a workshop to explain the new system in Makkah, Majid Sibgha, the general supervisor for pilgrims guiding sector, said that under the new system Turkish pilgrims will leave their camps at a certain time, and follow preset routes to and from the Jamarat site.

King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid sends food, medicines to Yemen

The King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid has distributed 45 tons of medicines, medical supplies and equipment to government hospitals in Aden, Taiz, Marib, Jouf and Sayoun in Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency has reported. 

The Yemeni Minister of Public Health and Population Dr Nasser Baoum said the medical assistance will contribute to the rehabilitation of government hospitals and support medical efforts in the eradication of cholera in Yemen. 

This follows a SPA report the previous day that the Center distributed 17,174 food baskets in the governorate of Al-Baida in Yemen, and 20,900 food baskets to a number of directorates in the governorate of Maareb.

This is part of over 133 relief projects implemented by the Riyadh-based Center in Yemen in conjunction with 83 local, regional and international providers.

During Ramadhan, SPA noted that the Center provided 550 tons of medicines and medical supplies for cholera control, while allocating US$8 million for the same purpose and US$66.7 million under the directive of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy PM and Minister of Defense, KSA, to support efforts for combating cholera in Yemen.

KSA Minister of Haj and Umra meets with Yemeni Minister of Waqf and Guidance on pilgrims for 1437

Source: KSA Ministry of Haj and Umra.

The KSA Minister of Haj and Umra Dr Mohammed Saleh bin Taher Bentin has met with the Yemeni Minister of Waqf and Guidance Dr Fu'ad Omar bin Abu-Bakr Al-Sheikh.

As part of the action plan of the Ministry of Haj and Umra, in coordination with the Pilgrims Affairs Office, issues pertaining to pilgrims coming from Yemen to perform Hajj or umrah in the year 1437 AH (approximately from mid October of 2015 to early October 2016) were discussed during the meeting.

The Minister of Haj and Umra highlighted the efforts of Saudi Arabia, led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, to ensure the maximum safety to all pilgrims coming from all over the world. In response, the Yemeni minister credited the KSA government for its keenness on providing high-quality services to all pilgrims.

Interested?

Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the Ministry of Haj's overview of Hajj 2016
Read the blog post about Haj and Umrah magazine, and on the meeting between the Ministry of Haj and Umra, KSA and Iran's pullout from the Hajj this year  

KSA, UAE send help to Yemen

Humanitarian relief has been arriving in Yemen. The third installment of medical relief by King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action arrived in Saioon city on board three trucks coming from KSA through the Alwadaia'ah land border crossing point, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.

Another report from Emirates news agency WAM shared that the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) handed out Eid al-Fitr gifts to 5,000 displaced children in the southeastern Yemeni province of Hadramaut. ERC teams delivered electronic toys, sweets and painting tools to makeshift shelters in the province.

The Emirati humanitarian agency has on-going operations in Yemen to provide basic educational, health and social services for children.

Old City of Sana'a and Old Walled City of Shibam in Yemen inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger

The World Heritage Committee has voiced concerns over the damage inflicted to the old city of Sana’a (سناء), an Islamic city of historic and heritage importance. The neighbourhood of al Qasimi and the 12^th century al-Mahdi Mosque and surrounding houses have been affected. The majority of the colourful, decorated doors and window panes characteristic of the city’s domestic architecture have been shattered or damaged.

Situated in a mountain valley at an altitude of 2,200 m, Sana’a has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years. In the 7^th and 8^th centuries the city became a major centre for the propagation of Islam. Its religious and political heritage can be seen in 103 mosques, 14 hammams and over 6,000 houses, all built before the 11^thcentury. Sana’a’s many-storeyed tower-houses built of rammed earth add to the beauty of the site, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986.

The Committee also noted that the Old Walled City of Shibam (شِبَام) in Yemen is under potential threat from the armed conflict, which compounds safeguarding and management problems already observed at the site. 

The 39^th session of the World Heritage Committee started on 28 June and will continue till 8 July under the chair of Maria Böhmer, Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office and member of the Bundestag. The inscription of sites will continue through 5 July.

NDC wins Temenos award for Islamic banking project in Yemen

From left: Ammara Masood, President, NDC, Behram Ahmed, CEO & Chairman, NDC, David Arnott, CEO, Temenos, and Navaid Kareem, EVP, Head of Marketing & Business Development, NDC, after receiving the Partner Project of the Year Award at TCF 2014.

National Data Consultant (NDC), a Pakistan-headquartered Temenos Partner for T24 Consulting and Implementation Services for banks, has been awarded the Partner Project of the Year award at the Temenos Community Forum (TCF) annual awards in Italy. Temenos provides banking software. 

The award was in recognition of NDC's outstanding performance in an Islamic banking implementation at the Yemen Bank of Reconstruction and Development. The project was delivered within six months and enabled the bank to be the first in Yemen to offer both conventional and Islamic products to their customers. In addition, having an Upgraded core banking platform in place enabled the bank to purchase Temenos Connect for digital-channel delivery. 

NDC Chairman & CEO Behram Ahmed stated, "NDC's footprint covers the entire Middle East and North Africa today and is a testimony to the investment in training of T24 specialists who are now deployed globally on projects. This long term investment in specialised human resource development, experienced project management and Temenos methodologies helped NDC to win the Temenos Partner Project of the Year Award."

NDC President Ammara Masood commented, "NDC winning this award for the second time in four years shows our continuous commitment to the quality and delivery capability as well as customer satisfaction."
 
Mike Head, Global Alliances Director, Temenos said, "We are delighted to have presented our Partner Project of the Year award to NDC, in recognition of its exceptional performance in implementing our Islamic banking solution at Yemen Bank of Reconstruction and Development. The dedication of the team to the project and the level of collaboration displayed were very impressive, and resulted in the very fast implementation. The project fully followed the Temenos implementation methodology, enabling the bank to become on the first adopters of the new Temenos Connect products for digital-channel delivery."