Germany to host international conference on Yemen

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - Germany will host an international meeting on Wednesday to support UN’s peace efforts in Yemen, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has announced.

“After the Stockholm consultations and agreements, Germany has invited international partners and key actors to support UN efforts for peace in Yemen,” Maas said in a statement on Tuesday.

He underlined that the agreement reached between conflict parties during last month’s talks in Stockholm offered a “real window of opportunity” to make further progress.

“We must work to make the international community’s support for the upcoming process as constructive and strong as possible. This includes ensuring that further progress is not impeded by a lack of funds or lengthy administrative processes,” he said.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and Resident Coordinator of the UN in Yemen Lise Grande will attend the conference among other officials, according to the German Foreign Ministry.

On Dec. 13, Yemeni peace talks held in Sweden concluded with a ceasefire deal in the coastal Al-Hudaydah province.

However, the warring parties have failed to withdraw from the province amid accusations of breaching the truce, and fighting continued in other parts of the country.

Impoverished Yemen has remained dogged by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.