Brende will visit Saudi Arabia

Foreign Minister Børge Brende.Photo: Vegard Wivestad Grøtt / NTB scanpix

Foreign Minister Børge Brende will visit Saudi Arabia on Thursday, where he will address the nation’s warfare in neighboring Yemen.

– The situation in Yemen is very serious. 82 percent of residents require emergency assistance. The country needs a political solution involving all parties, says Brende.

According to UN over 7,000 people, killed in Yemen since March 2015, when a coalition led by Saudi Arabia went to war against Houthis rebels who took control of Yemen’s capital Sana half a year earlier.

Saudi Arabia has received harsh international criticism for arbitrary bombings of civilians in Yemen, which in December the United States forbid the shipments of certain weapons to the country.

During this visit Brende will meet King Salman bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Nayef, as well as Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdul Malik al-Mekhlafi.

The human rights situation in Saudi Arabia will also be discussed during the visit, both in talks with the country’s leaders and during a meeting with head of the National Society for Human Rights.

– The meetings will also provide an opportunity to take up bilateral issues and human rights, says Brende.

 
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today