The first batch of the Saudi oil derivatives grant worth USD200 million, comprising 45,000 metric tons of diesel and 30,000 metric tons of mazut, has arrived at the oil port in Aden governorate today, as an extension of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's continued support to the Yemeni people following directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and in response to the request of the Yemeni government to be assisted in securing oil derivatives to operate more than 70 power plants across Yemen. Several officials from both countries attended the handing over ceremony. Yemeni Minister of Electricity and Energy Mana'a Yaslam bin Yamin extended gratitude and appreciation for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, for what it provides of assistance to the Yemeni people in various fields, stressing that the grant comes under difficult circumstances and will contribute to operating power plants and finding solutions to problems in the electricity sector. He said: We, in coordination with all stakeholders and with the support of Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen (SDRPY), seek to benefit from the grant in rehabilitating and increasing the efficiency of the electric system across Yemeni governorates. Yemeni Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Waed Badhib stressed that the grant of Saudi oil derivatives is one of the direct aspects of support for the Yemeni people and direct support to the general budget and a direct support to the needs of the society and people, which will contribute to alleviating the repercussions of power cuts that add burdens to citizens, the budget and public revenues of the state. He said that this grant is an extension of development projects and initiatives by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through SDRPY, where the total value of previous grants amounts to USD4.2 billion, noting that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has great contributions, such as developing the health sector via the project to operate and administrate the Aden Public Hospital, Aden International Airport and Al-Ghaydah Airport in Al-Mahrah Governorate, in addition to projects to establish model schools and other development projects in various governorates, noting that the Yemeni people are grateful for these great efforts. The new oil derivatives grant is an affirmation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's keenness to achieve security, stability and development for the brotherly Yemeni people, and an extension of the previous grants with a total of USD4.2 billion, the latest of which was a grant of USD422 million that was completed over a year, which contributed to economic stability, boosting the budget of the Yemeni government and raising the purchasing power of Yemeni citizens, improving security conditions, enhancing the service sector, developing citizens' living conditions, increasing the rate of daily service hours for the operation of power plants and ensuring the self-operation of power plants in Yemen. The Saudi oil derivatives grant is part of the support for SDRPY, which has provided 224 development projects and initiatives implemented in various Yemeni governorates to serve the brotherly Yemeni people in seven key sectors of education, health, water, energy, transport, agriculture and fisheries, and capacity-building of government institutions, in addition to development programs.
