Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Sworn In Before PLC President

  Riyadh

Mohammed Abdullah Ahmed Al-Faqmi was sworn in today, Saturday, before President Dr. Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, President of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), following his appointment as Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.

Following the swearing-in ceremony, President Al-Alimi met with the newly appointed Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and congratulated him on the confidence placed in him. He praised his academic and professional career, as well as his extensive experience in diplomatic and multilateral work, the United Nations system, and international economic institutions.

The President expressed confidence that this expertise would make a valuable contribution to the Ministry’s work and to its relations with Yemen’s regional and international partners. He underscored the importance of strengthening the pivotal role of the Ministry of Planning in setting national priorities, promoting the government’s program and economic reforms, mobilizing resources, and coordinating international partnerships.

The PLC President directed the Ministry to build on the progress made in restoring and expanding partnerships with financial institutions, foremost among them the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following years of suspension. He also called for coordination with the government, the Central Bank, and relevant authorities to revitalize Yemen’s relations with regional and international financing institutions and funds, and to mobilize additional support for comprehensive reform programs.

In this context, President Al-Alimi commended the generous and sustained fraternal support provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the government’s reform program. He noted that this support has included assistance to the state budget, support for the regular payment of public-sector salaries, improvements in basic services, and the financing of development and humanitarian programs and projects across various sectors.

The President described the partnership with the Kingdom as a model for making support a lever for reform, stability, and institutional recovery. He directed the Ministry of Planning to build on this approach and strengthen confidence with donors and regional and international partners. He also called for encouraging them to expand targeted interventions in ways that enhance the state’s capacity to meet its essential obligations to citizens.

He also stressed the importance of moving from managing emergency needs to planning for recovery and reconstruction and identifying priority projects. He emphasized the need to focus on the foundations of community resilience, particularly education, healthcare, water, electricity, food security, livelihoods, and essential infrastructure.

In this context, President Al-Alimi directed that special attention be given to international and humanitarian organizations operating from the interim capital, Aden. He called for facilitating their work in coordination with the Prime Minister’s Office, local authorities, and relevant bodies, while addressing any administrative or procedural difficulties affecting their activities, in order to ensure that aid reaches those in need across the various governorates.

He further called for keeping displaced persons and the groups most severely affected by the war at the forefront of international cooperation priorities. He stressed the need to improve basic services in host communities and link humanitarian assistance to more sustainable programs in education, healthcare, employment opportunities, and livelihoods. At the same time, he called for creating the necessary conditions for the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of displaced persons as soon as possible.

The PLC President underscored the importance of developing a national database for projects, needs, and international funding. Such a database, he said, would help the government identify gaps, improve the efficiency of resource allocation, and measure the actual impact of development and humanitarian interventions on citizens’ lives and the capacity of state institutions.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Yahya Al-Shuaibi, Director of the Presidency Office.