His Excellency Mukhtar Al-Yafei, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, held a virtual meeting today with His Excellency Patrick Simonnet, Ambassador of the European Union to Yemen, to discuss ways to strengthen joint cooperation and support recovery efforts and institutional capacity-building.

During the meeting, Minister Al-Yafei praised the support provided by the European Union to our country, affirming the government's commitment to expanding cooperation in ways that help alleviate the humanitarian crisis and advance recovery efforts. He also highlighted the ministry’s role as an active national partner working in accordance with a vision centered on serving people and promoting the principles of humanitarian action and responsible partnership.

The Minister reviewed the ministry’s plans to develop the social protection system, foremost among them the digital transformation project and the establishment of a unified national system for managing beneficiary data, with the aim of improving targeting efficiency and enhancing coordination among government agencies and local and international partners.

Minister Al-Yafei pointed out that the ministry’s approach is based on shifting from emergency support models to sustainable development programs focused on economic empowerment, helping transform beneficiaries into productive contributors. He stressed the importance of benefiting from international experiences and exchanging expertise to further develop the social affairs sector.

The Minister also emphasized the importance of supporting the National Statistics Center as a key reference for building data-driven policies, ensuring improved targeting mechanisms and greater efficiency in government and international partner interventions. He noted the ongoing efforts, in coordination with international partners including the World Bank and UNICEF, to reactivate cash assistance programs for poor families.

For his part, Ambassador Simonnet reaffirmed the European Union’s support for the government, praising the level of coordination between ministries and civil society, and renewing the EU’s commitment to continuing the partnership and expanding areas of cooperation in support of humanitarian and development priorities.