[05/06/2020 08:36]

RIYADH - SABA
Prime Minister Ma'een Abdulmalik, the Deputy Head of World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa Farid Balhaj, with attendance of the WB's Executive Director Mirza Hassan held Friday talk session via video conferencing.

The talks focused on cooperation between the government and the World Bank on combating corona endemic and reorganizing priorities in implementing the projects financed by the WB for contribution in alleviating humanitarian crisis and coordination in this field.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Najeeb al-Awej and the Head of the Executive Bureau for Absorbing Donor's Pledges Ala'a Qasem attended the talks, which touched upon improving mechanisms of programs intervened by the WB and the International Monetary Corporation and focusing on providing direct support to the citizen, supporting the state institutions and the government efforts for facing climate changes.

The convening parties discussed suggestions and visions helping the government to continue providing subsidies to Yemeni merchants for importing basic needs and building partnerships with private sector for carrying out vital projects and expanding the process of paying salaries of public employees to alleviate intensity of the humanitarian crisis.

The two parties discussed also a number of common concern issues, boosting national efforts for facing corona virus and including Yemen within the bank's new regional projects and pardoning it from debts due to current challenges the country faces.

Prime Minister reviewed the critical economic situation of Yemen under corona endemic and natural catastrophes and their effects on health, humanitarian and service levels, thanking the WB for emergency response to the projects of facing corona virus and combating locusts and endemics.

For its part, the leadership of the World Bank appreciated exceptional efforts made by the government in this critical stage, pointing to the organization's care to include Yemen within its new projects.

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