Saudi Arabia extends $1 billion to support Yemen’s economic, ‎financial, monetary reform program, ‎with technical assistance ‎from AMF

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced extending one billion US dollar to support ‎a comprehensive economic, financial, and monetary reform program to be ‎implemented by the Republic of Yemen, with technical assistance from the Arab ‎Monetary Fund (AMF).‎

The program covers the period (2022-2025), and aims at establishing economic and ‎financial stability in the Republic of Yemen, enhancing fiscal stability and the ‎external position, rebuilding Yemeni institutions and supporting their governance ‎and transparency, in order to enhance the macroeconomic environment to expand ‎and diversify the productive base, support inclusive and sustainable economic ‎growth, and create job opportunities. The program is expected to help put the ‎Yemeni economy on a sustainable path, and support the course of economic and ‎social development, while reducing unemployment and poverty rates.‎

The program focuses on reform package aiming at strengthening the fiscal position ‎of the Yemeni government, developing the financial and banking sector, and creating ‎an enabling environment to enhance the role of the private sector while scaling up its ‎role in achieving sustainable economic development.‎

The reform priorities in the public finance sector include increasing domestic fiscal ‎revenues, controlling and rationalizing government spending, enhancing public ‎expenditure efficiency and governance while directing it toward urgent priorities, ‎and rehabilitating vital infrastructure in the electricity, water and road sectors, in a ‎manner that supports fiscal sustainability and enhances confidence in the Yemeni ‎economy.‎

With respect to the financial and banking sector, the reform priorities include ‎developing governance and banking supervision in a way that enhances ‎transparency and accountability, enhancing financial inclusion to enable micro, ‎small and medium enterprises, as well as targeted groups especially youth and ‎women in rural areas, to have access to financial services, supporting digital ‎financial transformation to enhance the flexibility of payment means, improving the ‎banking sector infrastructure to enhance its resilience and support its ability to ‎mobilize resources to meet the financing needs of the economy, in addition to ‎achieving financial and economic stability.‎

The reform priorities also include developing the private sector to enhance its role as ‎an engine for inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and creating job ‎opportunities to improve living conditions and reduce unemployment and poverty ‎rates, while enhancing further integration in the global economy, increased foreign ‎investment flows and strengthened international partnerships. ‎

The Yemeni government affirms its commitment to implementing this ‎comprehensive program, with technical assistance from the Arab Monetary Fund, ‎looking forward to the program opening wide areas for regional and international ‎institutions and donors to scale up their support for economic reforms implemented ‎by the Yemeni government. ‎