(WASHINGTON, DC) - Today, $6.4 billion in financial support to Yemen was pledged by 14 countries and international financing institutions during the Consultative Group Meeting of Donors for the Republic of Yemen. Saudi Arabia announced its pledge of $3.25 billion in May. 

Saudi Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf inaugurated the two-day meeting taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He noted the aid from Saudi Arabia was announced at the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of Yemen held in Riyadh last May. Dr. Al-Assaf and Yemeni Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Mohammed Al-Saadi signed three agreements today detailing the Kingdom’s aid package, which included $1 billion deposit in the Central Bank of Yemen, a $1.75 billion grant and $500 million to fund and guarantee Saudi exports to Yemen.

In his speech, Dr. Al-Assaf emphasized the Kingdom’s continued support for Yemen over the last several years. He said, “Emanating from its belief in the need to support the Yemeni people to overcome their challenges, and in its pursuit to support their aspirations and provide their urgent humanitarian needs, the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud has provided financial aid to Yemen that exceeded $3 billion over the past five years.”

Additional aid pledged today included $346 million from the United States, $311 million from the United Kingdom, $214 million from the European Union, $158 million from Germany, $8 million from Switzerland and $6 million from France. International organizations such as the Arab Development Fund provided $510 million, the World Bank $400 million, Arab Monetary Fund $380 million, Islamic Development Bank $100 million, OPEC Fund for International Development $45 million and the International Fund for Agricultural Development $41 million. 

More than 60 states and financing institutions are participating in the meeting in preparation for the next Yemen Donors Conference scheduled on the sidelines of the 67th United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York later this month. In a joint communiqué, the participants reaffirmed their commitment to the Yemeni government today and underscored the importance of supporting the implementation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative signed in November 2011, particularly the success of the current transitional period.