Arab and international powers welcomed on Saturday the resumption of parliament sessions in Yemen.
The parliament met for the first time since 2014 on Friday in an extraordinary session in the eastern city of Seiyun in Hadramaut.
President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi chaired the meeting that saw the election of Sultan al-Borkani as speaker.
Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed al-Jaber congratulated Yemeni officials for holding the session, saying it reflected the people’s determination to restore their state and put an end to the agenda of the Iran-backed Houthi militias.
The United States State Department congratulated Yemeni lawmakers, saying: “This is an important step taken by the Yemeni government to reinvigorate legitimate government institutions, resume progress on implementing the National Dialogue Conference outcomes and complete the peaceful transition of power envisioned by the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative.”
“A reinvigorated Yemeni parliament will play an important role in advancing political and national reconciliation so the Republic of Yemen government, and all political parties, can better focus on meeting the needs of the Yemeni people,” it continued.
“We fully support the parliamentarians and encourage them to honor the principles of honesty, integrity, transparency, accountability and rule of law as they undertake their important responsibilities.”
Speaker of the Arab parliament Meshaal al-Salami, who attended the Seiyun meeting, welcomed the convening of the legislature.
He said that it allowed the representatives of the Yemeni people to stand side by side with the legitimate executive authority against the Houthi coup.
He hoped that the meeting will represent a “qualitative leap” in the people’s perseverance against the coup and Iran’s flagrant meddling in Yemen’s affairs.
He accused the militias of crippling state institutions, looting its funds and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the people. They have also recruited children for their war effort in blatant violation of international law.
Salami hailed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz for his “historic” decision to launch Operation Decisive Storm to form the Arab coalition to liberate Yemen from the Houthi coup.
Such a decision “preserved Yemen’s Arab identity, restored dignity to the Arab nation and aborted the Houthi-Iranian sectarian agenda in Yemen and the region.”
