Central bank governor confirm keenness to work with UN envoy to address economic situation

SANAA, Jan. 17 (YPA) – Acting Chairman of the Supreme Economic Committee, Governor of the Central Bank of Yemen in Sanaa, Hashem Ismail Ali, reaffirmed on Tuesday his readiness to work hard with the UN envoy to address the economic situation, including payment of salaries of state employees and an end to the blockade.

During his meeting with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, the governor stressed the importance of translating any discussions into practical reality as soon as possible.

Hashim Ismail affirmed that addressing the economic situation would be the main entry point for any political solution and further delay in finding fair solutions to this file, stressing the need for approaches and solutions to be based on the rights of the Yemeni people and not political gains.

The governor of the Bank also stressed the need for the United Nations assessment of the economic situation in Yemen to be fair and just, in order to contribute to finding appropriate solutions, which will achieve the aspirations of the Yemeni people and alleviate its eight-year-old suffering.

The governor touched on the decision taken to prevent the circulation of counterfeit currency, which came to protect the purchasing power of citizens, as well as to prevent the plundering of national wealth.

He pointed out that the demands of the national leadership, represented by the Supreme Political Council and the National Salvation Government, do not include any political goals or gains, but rather adopt the just demands of the Yemeni people, represented by the payment of salaries of state employees, pensions of retirees, social security allocations, in addition an end to the unjust siege, and opening Sanaa airport to citizens and tens of thousands of patients and students.

“We express disappointment with the approval of the International Monetary Fund last November to grant withdrawal units to the coalition-backed government, amounting to 300 million dollars, considering that this was the entry of the United Nations into the line of economic escalation, as the fund is one of its institutions,” he added.

He considering that the bias of Fund is an explicit participation in plundering the rights of the Yemeni people and in financing the coalition and the war on Yemen, calling for freezing the decision to preserve the rights of the people.

The Acting Chairman of the Higher Economic Committee, also touched on the file of the Safer Oil Reservoir, noting that since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding last March, which is 18 months long, has been no progress on the ground, and the United Nations has not provided any explanations for the reasons of the delay.

For his part, Grundberg expressed his happiness with what he heard of constructive ideas, during the discussions he held in Sanaa.

AA