Abdullah Al-Alimi, vice president of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, said securing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait was not a responsibility Yemen could shoulder alone and called for regional and international cooperation.
In a speech to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Al-Alimi argued that the Houthis’ attacks on maritime shipping had turned the security of one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes into a tool of pressure and bargaining.
Al-Alimi said the Houthis were using maritime security as a tool of blackmail, arguing that the situation threatened not only Yemen but also held the global economy hostage.
He linked Red Sea security to Yemen’s stability
Al-Alimi said years of conflict required not only support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government but also the strengthening of the country’s economic, security and military capacities. He said these steps would amount to an investment in international security and stability.
Al-Alimi said the security of the Red Sea was linked to stability in Yemen. Calling for the restoration of effective state authority to ensure stability in Yemen, Al-Alimi said sustainable peace would not be possible in an environment where an armed group stood above the state and outside the law.
He said restoring the Yemeni state would directly contribute to regional stability and the protection of one of the world’s most important maritime corridors.
He accused the Houthis of obstructing peace efforts
Al-Alimi said the Yemeni government had taken a responsible and positive approach to regional and international initiatives and had made significant concessions to achieve peace and reduce the suffering of Yemenis.
Al-Alimi accused the Houthis of responding to these efforts with intransigence and of using periods of humanitarian ceasefire to strengthen their military arsenal at the expense of Yemenis.
Al-Alimi argued that the Houthis had rejected peace initiatives and escalated attacks in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, saying the group served an Iranian agenda extending beyond Yemen’s national interests.
He called on the international community for a strategic partnership
Al-Alimi said the threat posed by the Houthis had grown because of the failure to adopt an effective and decisive international stance.
Calling on the international community to pursue a strategic partnership with Yemen that would strengthen security and stability, Al-Alimi said the government had the capacity to end the threat posed by the Houthis.
