• Shaya Al-Zindani’s new government meets a day after he arrived in southern Yemen
• Prime minister promises a broad program of reconstruction, development and modernization

Arab News

LONDON: Yemeni Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani chaired the new government’s first Cabinet meeting in Aden on Thursday.

Al-Zindani arrived on Wednesday in the city in Yemen’s south, which is controlled by forces loyal to the internationally recognized government.

The country’s capital Sanaa in the north remains under the control of Houthi militia, which seized the city in 2014, sparking the civil war.

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council issued a decree earlier this month to form a new government after the separatist Southern Transitional Council announced it would dissolve following talks in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Zindani, who also holds the role of foreign minister, assembled the 35-member Cabinet, which includes strong representation from the country’s south and east, and three women.

He vowed the government, which has been based in Saudi Arabia, would return to Aden to carry out its work.

Al-Zindani told the meeting that the government was working to launch a broad program focused on reconstruction, development and modernization, Al-Arabiya reported.

He also thanked Saudi Arabia for its support.