Saudi provides Yemen govt with nearly $60mn in budget support

Saudi Arabia has provided the Yemeni government with a new tranche of budget support worth more than $59.66 million, Mohamed Al Jabir, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, said on Thursday.

The funding comes amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, who have stepped up attacks on Saudi cities and energy infrastructure.

Taking to his social media account on X, Al Jabir said the funding was provided at the direction of the Saudi leadership and in response to a request from the Yemeni government, amid what he described as “terrorist attacks by the Houthi militia” on the resources, property and interests of the Yemeni people.

The grant, provided through the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen, is aimed at supporting government cash flows, fiscal policy and Yemenis’ purchasing power, he added.

EU aviation agency issues Saudi airspace advisory after Houthi attacks

Meanwhile, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued an advisory to airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, according to a bulletin posted on its website on Wednesday, following a recent increase in attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis.

The latest advisory on Saudi Arabia does not mention Wednesday’s incident involving a diverted flydubai airliner, and the EASA said it will continue to monitor the situation to assess whether there is an increase or decrease in risk for EU airlines in the country.

The EASA, in a separate bulletin, recommended flights not operate within the airspace of Jordan at all altitudes and flight levels, a change from a previous advisory to exercise caution.

The agency also extended until November 16 its warning to airlines to avoid the airspace over Lebanon, Iran and Iraq, and also over the territorial Gulf waters of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, revising earlier bulletins that recommended avoiding those countries’ entire airspace.

The seven-month-old conflict in the Middle East, sparked by US and Israeli attacks on Iran, has seen Tehran strike US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles while Yemen’s Houthis have targeted Saudi interests.