Saudi coalition announces 1.5 billion USD in aid for Yemen

Saudi Arabia has announced 1.5 billion US Dollars in new aid for Yemen, where nearly three years of conflict has devastated the local economy and pushed millions to the brink of famine, causing what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The kingdom has said the coalition it heads in Yemen would also lead the expansion of additional Yemeni ports to receive cargo and humanitarian assistance, ensure multiple daily flights of cargo planes carrying aid from Saudi Arabia to Yemen's Marib province and establish "safe passage corridors" to ensure transportation



of aid to non-governmental organisations operating inside Yemen.

The expansion of ports will be supported with up to 40 million US Dollars from the Saudi-led coalition. The coalition said that it would also allocate up to 30 million US Dollars to cover transportation costs of non-humanitarian shipments intended for the port of Hodeida, in rebel-held territory, to "their intended destination in Yemen". Additionally, the kingdom said it will make a donation of up to 2 billion US Dollars in fuel for the transportation of humanitarian aid.