Three sources within the Yemeni government mentioned today, Tuesday, that the foreign currency reserves at the central bank have sharply decreased and are close to depletion. The financial commitments announced by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates a year ago have not yet arrived. The sources indicated that the recent visit of the President of the Presidential Leadership Council to Abu Dhabi aimed to request the disbursement of the promised financial aid from the UAE, and that the Prime Minister left Aden earlier this month for Riyadh in an attempt to seek urgent Saudi support.
A central bank official confirmed that "starting next month, the government will face problems and hardships regarding the payment of state employee salaries following the halt of oil exports." He told Reuters that the budget deficit has peaked at 82%, amid significant declines in state revenues to their lowest levels ever, while the Saudi government has imposed strict conditions for releasing the deposits announced throughout various parts of the year.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE announced that they would provide urgent support to Yemen's struggling economy amounting to three billion dollars, which includes two billion dollars shared equally between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi as support for the Yemeni central bank. This came after former Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi issued a decision on April 7 of last year to form a Presidential Leadership Council and transfer his powers to it.
