Alaa Alghamdi

Stretching across 1,458 kilometers of Saudi Arabia’s southern territories is the border shared between Saudi and Yemen, which (like many places in the world) has a checkered history in terms of public, government, or military relations, but of late has found Saudi Arabian forces (among others) making a stand for the official UN-recognized Yemeni government, sending aircraft into northern Yemen to assist against rebel efforts. As is the result of an overwhelming majority of modern-day upheavals, Yemen’s Iran-influenced Houthi-led civil war has decimated the country, leaving a call out to the world for humanitarian assistance as the stall in the war has revealed the dire environmental, agricultural, and humanitarian conditions pressed upon its citizenry.

We the Saudis care about our neighbors because it’s in our national interests including security among other mutual benefits, to be in a region that’s safe and secure, where people can live without fear and at peace. The state of Yemen’s plight has certainly not escaped the attention of King Salman, who, for years now, has ensured that Saudi Arabia remains at the tip of the spear regarding humanitarian-based efforts flowing to the suffering people of Yemen. Financial aid has poured into the country in terms of billions via Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and organizations have been sending a steady flow of food and water to regions hit hard by the war, who have been living without any access to clean water, electricity, food- all of the necessities of life, and to date the KSA has been the largest contributor to aid flowing across its border, giving over 30 percent in total. A stabilized, safe, prosperous, and secure Yemen would greatly benefit Saudi interests, bolster the security and well-being of its southern border, and further irradicate dangerous terrorists from finding safe harbor at its doorstep whom the Kingdom has diligently chased out of its borders- all of the very things that instigators of the war would rather see happen differently while giving no thought to the victims left to deal with the aftermath.

At the United Nations Conference of the Least Developed Countries, a series of roundtable discussions will take place, working toward solutions to the complex situations these countries are in, none the least will be upcoming and ongoing efforts to bring in assistance to Yemen, being touted as one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Alongside funding, food, water, and a host of other humanitarian-based charitable efforts, KSA is also interested in the promotion of peace and the advancement of solidarity in international relations between its neighbors and abroad. Stability within the borders of neighboring countries creates new or more developed opportunities for mutually beneficial relations across a variety of sectors, and with Vision 2030 sitting well established in its agenda, stability across the Middle East would increase the fruits thereof by far. In this moment and the foreseeable future, the woes faced by the citizens of Yemen are compounded by sanctions that have been extended till late in the 2023 year, and eyes are watching to see what the Yemeni Presidential Council will be willing or able to do to meet UN demands to have these sanctions lifted and needless to say, they have their work cut out for them.

Professor of English Literature *

@ayghamd