Saudi Arabia has promised to provide the newly formed government of Yemen with urgently needed aid, mainly petroleum products, the Saudi Press Agency and Yemen's Saba news agency said Tuesday. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal talked by telephone late Monday to Yemen's new Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa, informing him of the Kingdom's decision. The decision comes after the formation of a unity government on Dec. 7, as stipulated in a Gulf-brokered accord that paves the way for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to leave office following months of deadly protests. Saleh has handed over his constitutional powers to his deputy. Nationwide demonstrations raging since January, combined with confrontations between government forces and Al-Qaeda militants, have exacerbated the dire economic conditions in the impoverished nation. The southern Arabian Peninsula country produces 300,000 barrels per day of crude oil, of which it exports 105,000 bpd. But supplies have repeatedly been interrupted due to sabotage attacks.
