Freitag, 29.03.2024 11:46 Uhr

Interview with the Ambassador of Yemen in Italy

Verantwortlicher Autor: Carlo Marino Rome, 21.06.2021, 15:06 Uhr
Nachricht/Bericht: +++ Politik +++ Bericht 3754x gelesen

Rome [ENA] In May 2021 I had the honour to meet in Rome H.E. Ambassador of Yemen to Italy and Permanent Representative of Yemen to international organizations, Abdulhameed Al-Toqi. H.E. Ambassador of Yemen kindly answered to the following interview. 1- To begin with, could you tell us a little about yourself and your career As a diplomate? Yes, I have started my diplomatic career in 2002 when I joined

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and since then I delt with different files at the Minister’s bureau. My first post was to Yemen Mission in Belgium where I oversaw the EU file. Then I was appointed to Yemen Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, afterwards to our Embassy in Paris as head of Mission. In December 2016, I was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Yemen to the Republic of Italy, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Rome based Agencies (RBAs). Each post has offered me a first hand encounter with the peoples and cultures of those respective countries which has definitely enriched my knowledge and widen my vision. Working with the UN RBAs namely with WFP, FAO and IFAD has been very rewarding

in terms of exploring and reinforcing all means to provide adequate assistance to the targeted people in Yemen in particular to the most vulnerable. Could you give us some background knowledge on the Italian- Yemeni diplomatic relations? The historical roots of the Yemeni-Italian relations go back to more than 94 years when the first agreement was signed on September 2, 1926. The beginning of official diplomatic representation dates back to 1959, when a commission for Yemen was opened in Rome until 1964, after which it was transformed into an embassy. Italy was the first western country to establish formal diplomatic relations with Yemen. When the unity of Yemen was announced on May 22, 1990, Italy was among the first countries that

congratulated it and since then Italy provided moral and political support for a united Yemen and the Yemeni-Italian relations especially in the political, economic and cultural fields, have been reinforced via different projects of cooperation. What is the situation at the moment in Yemen? After six years of war due to the Houthi Coup and its catastrophic ramifications at all levels, there have been international and regional diplomatic endeavours to get the Houthi respond to peace calls, most recently the Saudi Arabia initiative which was welcomed and by the Government of Yemen out of its concern and keenness to end the coup and war which will undoubtedly help in alleviating the humanitarian crisis suffered by the Yemeni people.

The initiative was regionally and internationally welcomed as well. Yet, the Houthis refusal to respond to peace calls and their continued attacks on Marib governatorate deepens the humanitarian crisis and eliminate chances to resort to political solution which is now being the core of the current momentum at all levels. The war has devastated one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Why, in your opinion? It is well known that when war erupts in any place, it brings with it devastative losses and destruction in many aspects and at different levels and it will unfortunately continue to do so unless war and atrocities are put to an end. Thus, further and serious pressure is needed to get the coup forces restore to

political solution which will hopefully lead to face all challenges. What is the situation of the population at the moment? As illustrated, the war has negatively affected all aspects of life and one of its outcomes is the humanitarian crisis which is considered as the world’s worst crisis since World War 2. Over 20 million people need humanitarian assistance, 16.2 million people are food insecure. According to international reports about 70% of the population does not have access to drinking water and more than 50% of the population does not have access to health care. It is estimated that the number of internally displaced persons is around 4 million people who live in precarious conditions and face recurrent attacks

by the coup militias. The Government is working with all relative authorities to protect IDPs against those hostilities and to ultimately provide needed services and assistance to help them return to their areas of origin across Yemen. When it comes to business and trade, which sectors do you feel have been most important for the two countries and what forecasts for the future? The bilateral cooperation between Yemen and Italy included several fields and sectors; maritime sector is one of the most important sectors as Yemen with its strategic location can be considered as a hub in this regard; safeguarding cultural heritage and empowering coast guards are another important field of cooperation and I believe that future opportunities to

further invest in those areas of cooperation among other areas are available. For this purpose one of the most important endeavours to strengthen trade relations between the two countries will be to work on activating the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement as well as the Yemeni Commercial Cooperation Agreement. What is the situation of the artistic heritage of Yemen? The cultural heritage of Yemen has been affected by the war and several important sites and historical monuments have suffered substantial damage and were subjected to looting and smuggling and this definitely constitutes a challenge added to the many other challenges Yemen is facing. As stated before, ending the coup and restoring the state is our way out

to address all problems and challenges in a more sustainable manner; in our endeavour at the Embassy to explore all possible means to prevent such practices and to offer needed protection, we are currently working with the relative Italian authorities to finalise a cooperative programme that aims to empower Yemeni professionals in the field of safeguarding Cultural Heritage. How much Italy is involved in helping your country? Italy has been among the first countries to support the legitimate Government against the Houthi coup and it has since then been a supporter of a UN led process to end the coup and thus address the humanitarian crisis to which Italy has responded by participating in the High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian

crisis in Yemen, and contributed with US$ 6 million. As Yemen values Italy stance, we believe that Italy within its own capacity and within its EU membership capacity can leverage its efforts and involvement in assisting Yemen countering the existing multi-challenges. Do you have any final thoughts you would like to share with our readers? I would like to conclude with a positive note that Yemen as a country of rich history and old civilizations has always been able to recover and overcome all difficulties it faced by the efforts of its sincere citizens and with the help of its friends;

it is our hope that our friends and partners will join efforts to support the current momentum in getting the Houthis respond to peace calls and hopefully leading to create the needed political conditions that will break the impasse.

Für den Artikel ist der Verfasser verantwortlich, dem auch das Urheberrecht obliegt. Redaktionelle Inhalte von European-News-Agency können auf anderen Webseiten zitiert werden, wenn das Zitat maximal 5% des Gesamt-Textes ausmacht, als solches gekennzeichnet ist und die Quelle benannt (verlinkt) wird.
Zurück zur Übersicht
Photos und Events Photos und Events Photos und Events
Info.