Madam President,

I thank Mr. Hans Grundberg and Mr. Martin Griffiths for their briefings.

We are pleased to see unprecedented consensus-building and positive momentum towards ending the war in Yemen and achieving peace, security, and stability. Countless efforts were made to reach this point, the most recent of which was the Yemeni-Yemeni consultations held under the auspices of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) from 29 March to 7 April. These consultations, which featured the participation of a diverse and wide array of political actors and segments of civil society, concluded with a consensus on a road map that we hope will pave the way for a lasting and comprehensive political solution.

In this context, we express our appreciation for the efforts made by the General Secretariat of the GCC to facilitate the talks and bridge the divide amongst Yemeni parties. We also reiterate the need to ensure meaningful and active participation of women in political consultations and processes.

The UAE welcomes the decision by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi to form the Presidential Leadership Council to complete the implementation of the transitional phase and delegate to it full presidential powers. We hope that this step will contribute to reaching a lasting political solution between the Yemeni parties. We also affirm the UAE’s full support for the Presidential Leadership Council as well as its supporting bodies to enable it to carry out its tasks, end the crisis, achieve security and stability in Yemen, and realize the aspirations of the Yemeni people for development and prosperity. We stress the need for the Yemeni parties to unify their efforts and work collaboratively so that state institutions can restore their effectiveness and meet the needs of citizens.

We also welcome the call by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Presidential Leadership Council to begin negotiations with the Houthis under the auspices of the United Nations to reach a comprehensive and lasting political solution. We also renew our strong condemnation of the Houthi terrorist cross-border attacks targeting civilian facilities in the Kingdom, the latest of which targeted an oil facility in the city of Jeddah, which the Council condemned in its press statement issued on 4 April.

We call on the Houthis to seize this valuable opportunity, stop biding their time, and seriously engage in the ongoing efforts to end the war in Yemen. We also stress the importance of the Houthis’ stopping all of their violations of the truce, especially their continued bombing of sites in Ma’rib Governorate. We urge all parties to work with the Special Envoy to achieve further progress in implementing confidence-building measures, including the exchange of prisoners, opening roads leading to the city of Taiz, and working to transform the temporary truce into a permanent cessation of military hostilities.

While this delicate period brings renewed hope that an end to the war in Yemen is close, we urge all regional and international stakeholders to advance this opportunity by working constructively with international and Gulf efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Yemen. We also urge them to refrain from exploiting it to serve their own agendas or narrow interests, as it could reverse progress made thus far.

On the humanitarian front, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, pledged $2 billion to support the Central Bank of Yemen. As a result, and as we heard, the value of the local currency has begun to improve in a clear and concrete manner, which will contribute to alleviating the pressure on livelihoods and fulfilling increasing humanitarian needs in the wake of rising global energy and food prices.

We also renew our support for the efforts of the United Nations to address the situation of the Safer Tanker. We call on the Houthis to swiftly implement their obligations under the recent agreement with the United Nations in order to avert a serious environmental disaster that could occur if the UN emergency plan is not implemented.

In conclusion, the UAE renews its commitment to stand by the Yemeni people and support their ambitions and aspirations, as part of its efforts to serve the interests of the peoples in the region.

Thank you, Madam President.