• Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says agreement will open new period of stability in Yemen
• The ceremony was attended by Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and STC leader Aidarous Al-Zoubeidi, along with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed

Arab News, Riyadh

Yemen's internationally recognized government signed a power-sharing deal with southern separatists in Riyadh on Tuesday aimed at ending infighting as they both battle Houthi militants.

“This agreement will open a new period of stability in Yemen. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands with you,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at a signing ceremony. “It's a joyful day in Saudi as the two sides come together.”

The deal will see the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) handed a number of ministries, and the government return to Aden.

It was brokered by Saudi Arabia after tensions between the two Yemeni parties overspilled into skirmishes during the summer in the country’s south. The sides are allied against the Iran backed Houthis who sparked the Yemen conflict by seizing the capital Sanaa in 2014.

The ceremony was attended by Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and STC leader Aidarous Al-Zoubeidi, along with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.

The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, congratulated the two sides on the deal which he said would propel efforts to end the wider civil war that has devastated the country.

"The signing of this agreement is an important step for our collective efforts to advance a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Yemen," he said in a statement.

"Listening to southern stakeholders is important to the political efforts to achieve peace in the country.”