Jordanian tech firms look to forge partnerships at Seamless Saudi Arabia Conference

Jordanian tech firms look to forge partnerships at Seamless Saudi Arabia Conference

Yemeni PM hails $1.2bn Saudi funding package as ‘lifeline’ to help tackle budget deficit, currency depreciation

AL-MUKALLA: Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed on Monday hailed a $1.2 billion financial aid package from Saudi Arabia to Yemen as a “lifeline” for the country.

He pointed out that the latest funding from the Kingdom would enable his government to pay public employees, help tackle the budget deficit, and control the depreciation of the Yemeni riyal.

The PM told reporters in Yemen’s port city of Aden, the country’s interim capital, that this year’s budget deficit was nearly 40 percent compared to 20 percent last year, and said that his government had adopted several reforms, such as combating smuggling, to ensure financial aid was properly targeted.

“The assistance provided by the brothers in Saudi Arabia was a lifeline for the government, allowing it to continue guaranteeing salary payments and financing the budget deficit,” Saeed added.

He accused unspecified “influential” people of hindering his government and noted that taxes and customs costs on oil imports had added 239 billion riyals ($63.7 billion) to the budget each year, up from zero in 2018.

“We are in a difficult situation. We need to succeed in the budget support grant. We need to