AL-MUKALLA: Institutional corruption and a spiralling currency will be among the targets of Yemen’s new government, Prime Minister-designate Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed said.

Speaking after a meeting with party leaders and the parliamentary speaker on Wednesday, Saeed said the new administration will focus on reviving Yemen’s economy, halting the depreciation of the riyal, alleviating the suffering of Yemenis and combating corruption in state institutions.

Devaluation of the riyal has hit ordinary Yemenis, while uncontrolled currency speculation has damaged the economy, he said.

“We are confronting a multidimensional battle. It is not only military but also economic, humanitarian and developmental. The new government represents the will of the people, and will face challenges with courage and resolute measures,” he said.

Saaed said that his government will apply radical reforms aimed at boosting revenues and improving financial management.

Under the Riyadh Agreement designed to end hostilities between the internationally recognized government and separatists in southern Yemen, the Yemeni president in July mandated the outgoing prime minister to form a new unity government that will include separatist Southern Transitional Council.

On Wednesday, the Yemeni army and separatists said they had completed the military components of the agreements after withdrawing their forces from flash points in the southern province of Abyan under the supervision of Saudi monitors.

The Yemeni riyal has tumbled from 500 against the dollar in January 2018 — when tensions between the Yemeni government and separatists erupted into sporadic military clashes — to 920 this month.

The currency rebounded on Thursday after the Arab coalition announced the beginning of implementation of the Riyadh Agreement.

In the western city of Taiz, hundreds of protesters demanded the government take immediate steps to halt rising prices and the devaluation of the riyal.

Led by local labor and human rights unions, protesters carried posters urging the government to address worsening economic conditions and improve people’s lives.

“The fall of the currency is a direct killing of the Yemeni citizen,” one poster read. “Silence about high prices and a falling currency is premeditated murder,” another read.

In Riyadh, the Yemeni government repeated its demands to the UN mission to relocate its main office from Houthi-controlled areas in the western province of Hodeidah to a “neutral” area in the country.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Hadrami told Daniela Crosslake, deputy head of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement, that the Houthis are obstructing UN monitors in Hodeidah and violating the Stockholm Agreement.

The UN mission in Yemen is unable to work freely since its main office is inside Houthi territory, he said.

Yemen’s government has boycotted the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) that monitors a truce in Hodeidah since March when a Houthi sniper killed a government soldier.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed in shelling or by land mines planted by the Houthis in Hodeidah since late 2018 when the government and the militia signed the Stockholm Agreement, local right groups say.

CAIRO: Egypt has welcomed the UAE’s entry into the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), according to a spokesman for President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Bassam Radi said the Egyptian leader had also expressed the importance of the added value that the UAE would bring to the group.

“The president welcomes the UAE’s accession to the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum as an observer, along with the founding member states, expressing the importance of the added value that the UAE will contribute to the forum’s activities to serve strategic interests and enhance cooperation and partnership between the forum countries,”  said Radi.

Talks were held on Wednesday between the Egyptian president and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed to discuss issues in the region and issues of cooperation between the two countries.

A high-level EMGF working group held its eighth meeting to discuss organizational matters to activate the forum’s activities, including reviewing the position of the headquarters agreement to be concluded between Egypt and the forum, and procedures for adding new members and observers.

The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum said the meeting also discussed the forum’s road map during 2021. It included the work plan of the Gas Industry Advisory Committee and the detailed plans of its three technical, economic and organizational subcommittees.

The meeting approved the requests for two additional members to join the committee, bringing the number of members to 29 from the most important companies and institutions concerned with the region’s gas industry, compared to 16 members when it was launched in November last year.

It was the first meeting to be held after the final signing of the forum’s charter by the seven founding countries — Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Egypt — in September and its ratification by Egypt’s parliament on Tuesday.

On Sept. 22, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced the signing of a charter to convert the EMGF into a regional organization based in Cairo. The signing was attended by ministers of the forum.

The organization is interested in strengthening cooperation and developing the political dialogue on natural gas in order to contribute to the economic exploitation of the countries’ reserves of the resource.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hami Aksoy, described the EMGF as an anti-Ankara bloc considering its transformation into an international organization.

Turkey is in a dispute with Greece over maritime and energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

DUBAI: News that several COVID-19 vaccines are passing advanced trials and getting licensed for use has been met with relief and jubilation. The challenge now is finding ways to distribute the vaccines to every corner of the globe in the hope of ending the pandemic once and for all.

Emirates, the Arab world’s biggest commercial carrier, has teamed up with logistics firm DHL to launch a massive vaccine-delivery effort before the year is out, according to company officials.

Nabil Sultan, divisional senior vice president of Emirates SkyCargo, told Arab News a hub has now been created at Al-Maktoum International Airport, also known as Dubai World Central, to receive, store and then distribute vaccines to hospitals across the region.

Preparations began in summer when pharmaceutical firms first announced advanced trials. “We are able to store almost a million vaccine doses in our facility under the temperature requirements set by the manufacturers,” Sultan said.

Some of the new vaccines must be stored at ultra-cold temperatures in special containers packed with dry ice — conditions which may be too costly and cumbersome for poorer countries in the developing world.

For instance, the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in partnership with German firm BioNTech, licensed for use in the UK on Dec. 2 and for emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Dec. 12, must be stored at a frigid -70 C.

Moderna, another US drugmaker, has developed its own vaccine using the same revolutionary mRNA method as Pfizer/BioNTech, which must be stored at a chilly, although more moderate, -20 C.

Meanwhile, both the Chinese-made Sinopharm shot, approved by the UAE on Dec. 9, and the UK-manufactured Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperature.

“One of the challenges we came across is that a lot of the countries around us — in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent — lack the infrastructure in terms of storage,” said Sultan.

“Therefore, bringing the vaccine to Dubai in a bigger quantity and (distributing) them in smaller quantities was the ultimate solution.”

Even developed countries are scrambling for resources in preparation for the vaccines, particularly the delicate Pfizer/BioNTech shot, says Dr. Mais Absi, a research scientist at King’s College London.

“The number of refrigerating cabinets with a temperature of -80 degrees Celsius is limited in European countries,” she told Arab News. “So, you can imagine the situation in developing countries.” 

With so many vaccine candidates emerging, governments will soon be able to shop around for the best shots to suit their needs. And, thanks to Emirates, Dubai will be a regional hub.

“Emirates SkyCargo already has a dedicated pharma facility at Dubai International Airport (DXB),” Sultan said. “Together, for the Dubai vaccine hub project, the two facilities offer close to 9,000 square meters of dedicated pharma storage area in addition to over 10,000 pallet storage locations for the vaccine.”

The firm transported more than 75 million kg of pharmaceuticals in 2019 alone, making Dubai a natural choice as a regional vaccine hub. But even for such an experienced cargo handler, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has proved uniquely challenging.

“If you take Pfizer for instance, a box of vaccines will require almost 23 kg of dry ice,” said Sultan. “The maximum limit you can have on a passenger aircraft for instance is roughly 1,000 kg of dry ice. This means you can carry one pallet per passenger aircraft.”

To account for this excess weight, Emirates went back to the aircraft manufacturer and talked with aviation authorities to increase the capacity for cargo and civilian aircraft.

“Now we have a modern fleet of aircraft including 11 dedicated Boeing 777 freighters and 14 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with seats removed from Economy Class for additional cargo capacity, and our Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 passenger aircraft, which transport cargo including temperature sensitive vaccines in the belly hold,” said Sultan. 

The aviation industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, as governments closed borders and flights were cancelled. Even now, with an easing of restrictions, Emirates is operating flights to just 130 of the 170 destinations it served before the outbreak.

By deploying its underutilized fleet for distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, the airline is no doubt doing its bit for global economic recovery and a hoped-for rebound in commercial travel.

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Twitter: @jumanaaltamimi

AL-MUKALLA: The main road that links the port city of Aden with the province of Abyan was reopened on Wednesday, as the Yemeni government and separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) announced the reorganization of their forces from sites in southern Yemen under the Riyadh Agreement.

Military commanders told Arab News that all units were pulled from the Sheikh Salem area in Abyan under the supervision of a Saudi de-escalation team, and were replaced by neutral forces.

Local media posted videos showing dozens of military vehicles leaving their positions in Sheikh Salem for the first time in months.

“We have completed withdrawing our forces from Sheikh Salem with the help of our brothers in the Saudi team,” an army officer, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, told Arab News by telephone from Abyan, adding the STC forces had headed to Aden and Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province.

Soldiers from the neutral “Giants Brigades,” major military units battling the Iran-backed Houthis along the country’s western coast, were deployed in Sheikh Salem to maintain peace.

Saudi military officers also oversaw the demolition of sand barricades and trenches built by warring factions, and reopened the main road that links Aden with other southern provinces.

Saudi Arabia in November last year brokered a power-sharing deal, known as the Riyadh Agreement, meant to end enmity between the Yemeni government and STC separatists that spilled over into sporadic fighting.

The agreement faced many hurdles as both sides disagreed over the implantation of military aspects of the deal.

But on Dec. 10, the Saudi-led Arab coalition announced that Yemeni factions agreed to immediately put into place the military side of the agreement, and that a new government would be announced when the deployment came to an end.

In Shouqra, the main base of government troops during the fighting, residents told Arab News that peace and calm had returned to the area, and large explosions from the fighting had stopped for the first time since May.

“I see serious steps on the ground and combat forces have largely left Shouqra and neighboring areas. We want them to quickly finish this process as we are fed up with fighting,” Hassan, a resident in Shouqra, told Arab News.

Dozens of fighters had been killed since May when government forces launched an offensive in Abyan to drive out separatists from the province and Aden.

Under the Riyadh Agreement, the separatists abandoned their controversial self-rule in southern provinces and agreed to pull out of Aden and Abyan in exchange for being included in a new government, and the withdrawal of government troops from some southern areas.

In Riyadh, the Yemeni president’s adviser, Abdul Malik Al-Mekhlafi, said on Twitter that the announcement of a new administration would herald the end of implementation of the Riyadh Agreement as the Yemeni government and STC put into place security and military arrangements.

“The announcement of the (new) government is a practical response to intensive campaigns of suspicion and frustration since the announcement of the Arab coalition statement,” he said.
 

CAIRO: Sudan’s military Wednesday said a cross-border attack by Ethiopian forces and militias left causalities among Sudanese troops, a development that could strain ties between the two neighbors.
The military said in a statement that the attack took place late Tuesday as forces were returning from a sweep of the Abu Tyour area in the al-Qadarif province along the border with Ethiopia.
The statement did not say how many troops were killed or wounded.
Separately, military officials said the attack left at least four troops, including a major, dead and wounded a dozen others. They said the military sent enforcement to the borders with Ethiopia. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media.
There was no immediate comment from Ethiopia.
Sudan deployed more than 6,000 troops to the border at the start of fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region that pitted the federal government against regional authorities last month. Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory in the fight. However, clashes between Ethiopian federal and regional forces have continued.
The fighting in Tigray has sent over 52,000 Ethiopian refugees into Sudan, mostly in al-Qadarif. The influx of refugees adds to Sudan’s economic and security burdens.
Tuesday’s attack on the Sudanese troops came three days after Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok met with the Ethiopian leader in Addis Ababa. The visit lasted a few hours, despite an announcement by Sudan that it would be a two-day visit. Hamdok told a news conference that they finished their talks earlier than expected and there was no reason to stay.
Hamdok said the two sides agreed to resume talks next week in Khartoum over the border between the two countries.
Sudan’s transitional government has engaged in talks with Ethiopia in recent months to encourage Ethiopian farmers to withdraw from Sudan’s al-Fashqa border area, which they have cultivated for years.
The government of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had tolerated the incursion of Ethiopian farmers, who were sometimes supported by militias. In May, at least one Sudanese army officer and one child were killed in an attack by an Ethiopian militia group in al-Qadarif.