Search results

Despite UN-sponsored talk of peace (and Riyadh’s reluctance to commit a ‘coalition’ ground army) the conflict shows no signs of abating.

While there has been no indication of an imminent breakthrough, some analysts are hopeful he might be able to make a difference.

Well aware of troublesome Western concerns, Saudi Arabia and the UAE want to be seen to be backing the peace process in Yemen, but developments on the ground point to the conflict enduring for the foreseeable

Since the death of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in December 2017, Barakani has led a faction of GPC members outside Yemen.

King Salman may be hoping Oman can bring pressure to bear on the Houthis to shift their negotiating position and that Iran can be cajoled into supporting such a move.

For all these discussions, few if any significant deals were announced.

The war has come close to UAE soil before, with assaults on shipping in the Gulf of Oman in mid-2019 (GSN 1,083/1, 1,081/1).

supply 1.6m t/yr of LNG to Shell International Trading Middle East was signed on 17 April; Oman LNG signed a 1m t/yr deal with Türkiye’s Botas Petroleum Pipeline Corporation on 19 April

A number of other long-term supply deals were announced in 2023 (GSN 1,181, 1,163). Oman LNG was set up in 1994.

rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association”.

He praised Oman’s achievements, “especially in infrastructure, education, water, electricity, health and the economy”, and its stability and peace “in a region that is better known for turbulence, tensions

During Sultan Qaboos’ long reign, Oman often played the role of mediator between international foes, most clearly between Washington and Tehran in the build-up to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the

Despite UN-sponsored talk of peace the conflict grinds on.

“Oman continues to play an active and important role for peace in Yemen. Therefore, the conversations were particularly fruitful,” he said.

UK defence secretary Michael Fallon visited Oman (and Qatar) in late March.

The deal between Oman Drydock Company and Babcock International could be worth £100m ($144m).

, from piracy in the Horn of Africa to tensions with Iran and Yemen.

The key military threats relate to Oman’s key strategic role as Arab guardian of the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, and come from Iran and Yemen (see box below).

Southern Movement as their leader and the future president of the new state they hope to create.

on 9 May decided they would stick to a peaceful campaign.

The fresh attempts to deliver aid and humanitarian supplies offer a sliver of hope to a beleaguered population.

There seems little appetite or incentive for any of the combatants to sue for peace. Russia has sent a team of diplomats, landing at Sanaa airport soon after the first aid flight.

Two days later, Houthi officials echoed Saleh’s demands, arguing that an end to the Saudi-led Operation Restore Hope was vital to start new talks.

The deal was signed in the Yemeni embassy in Riyadh, at a ceremony attended by Hadi’s Prime Minister Khaled Bahah.

They were cleared for transfer in 2010, but talks between Washington and Sanaa, ongoing for years (GSN 952/5), foundered due to instability in Yemen.

GSN OnlineIssue 872 - 5 March 2010 Yemen’s neighbours tackle aid delays as country pins hopes on ten-point plan While a meeting of GCC states worried over international aid not getting through to Sanaa

The government hopes that this will be built on the mutual understanding that job creation in Yemen is of strategic interest to regional neighbours.