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Saudi Arabia tries its hand at rebuilding a 'destroyed' Yemen
Our goal is clear: A secure, stable and developed war-torn country: Saudi ambassador
Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al Jaber and Rashad Al Alimi, President of Yemen's new leadership council, during the unveiling of a renovated hospital in Aden on May 10, 2023. — AFP
The hospital in southern Yemen was decked out with roses and red carpet runners last week for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in its cardiac wing, newly refurbished with Saudi funds.
Eight years after mobilising troops to topple Houthi rebels and restore Yemen's internationally backed government, Saudi Arabia is planning reconstruction and development projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars as it pushes for peace.
"Our goal is clear: A secure, stable and developed Yemen," the Saudi envoy, Mohammed Al Jaber, told AFP after a tour of Aden General Hospital, nearby apartment buildings and Aden's international airport — all revamped under the kingdom's official Yemen development programme.
Saudi officials say they had no choice when, in 2015, they formed a military coalition and sent in fighter jets to topple the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who had seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
They cite threats to Saudi territory underscored by several high-profile attacks on oil facilities, including one in 2019 — claimed by the Houthis but widely attributed to Iran — that temporarily halved output for the world's largest crude exporter.
The consequences for Yemen's population were stark.
Fighting diminished considerably thanks to a truce deal that took effect in April 2022 and has largely held despite officially expiring last October.
Last month, Jaber travelled to Sanaa for talks with officials including one Houthi leader, Ali Nasir Qarshah.
Those meetings ended without a new agreement, though Jaber told AFP he believes all parties are "serious" about wanting peace.
Meanwhile, Riyadh is trying to spread the word about its reconstruction drive, which Jaber noted includes $1 billion deposited earlier this year in Yemen's central bank, a $600 million oil derivatives fund and $400 million worth of projects like the hospital and airport.
Officials even flew Saudi influencers like the screen actor Fayez Al Malki — best known for his film character Menahi, a hapless villager in the big city — down to Aden to interview beneficiaries of Saudi-funded home renovations.
"This is the first time someone has helped us, and you are a country of goodness and blessing," Samah Al Hussaini told Malki, who dutifully posted the recording for his millions of Twitter and Snapchat followers.
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