Exiled Yemeni government returns to Aden

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid bin Dagher returned to Aden from Riyadh on September 22nd, accompanied by seven of his government ministers, declaring that his government’s return to Aden was permanent.

President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi declared the port city the country's temporary capital after Sanaa fell to the Houthis on September 21, 2014.

On October 6, 2015, the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) attacked a hotel that served as the headquarters of previous Prime Minister Khalid Bahah, prompting the prime minister and cabinet to leave for Saudi Arabia.

The government's return is intended to normalise the security and economic situation, bin Dahger said, and followed Hadi's decision to relocate the Central Bank to Aden to safeguard Yemen's economy and protect it from collapse.

This is the fourth time the Yemeni government has attempted to return to Aden after being forced to evacuate the city on three previous occasions due to the security situation and terror attacks targeting government ministers and local officials.

The government returns this time after a cabinet reshuffle ordered by Hadi affecting nine ministerial portfolios, notably media and finance, the relocation of the Central Bank headquarters from Sanaa to Aden, and the replacement of the bank's board of directors.

During a meeting in Riyadh, Hadi directed the government to return to Aden to oversee the situation in the liberated areas, look after the interests of Yemeni citizens, stabilise the security situation and restore services and infrastructure.

The government will carry out these tasks in co-operation with the local authorities in the various provinces.

Fighting extremism and terrorism

"There are a number of difficulties facing the government that it will work to tackle," Information Minister Muammar al-Aryani told Al-Mashareq.

These include the restoration of salaries to government employees, which have not been paid for months, the resumption of public services and improving the population's standard of living, he said.

The restoration of security is another one of the government's main concerns, he added.

"One of the government’s priorities is to complete taking control of the liberated areas and fight terrorism and extremism," al-Aryani said.

The Yemeni government is facing two main challenges, Sanaa University economics professor Ali al-Asali told Al-Mashareq.

These are the country's economic and security challenges, he said, noting that the success of each is contingent on the success of the other.

Tackling the economic challenge and averting the collapse of state institutions begins with the ability to pay state employee salaries in the security and military sectors, al-Asali said.

"The southern provinces are infested with armed terrorist groups, and securing the liberated areas, extending control over them and preventing terrorist incidents will thus enable the government to focus on the economic service-related aspects, which cannot exist in an unstable environment," he added.

Security and economic challenges

"The security challenges are enormous, especially given the proliferation of terrorist groups and their execution of a series of attacks on installations and civilians in Aden," economist Abdul Jalil Hassan told Al-Mashareq.

These include the targeting of government officials, including former Prime Minister Khalid Bahah, he said.

Going forward, he added, the government must base its operation on security strategies developed in co-operation with intelligence services, as the security challenges will only end when the war in Yemen ends.

However, "the government does not have a budget and no known financing to implement its economic and security plans and strategies," Hassan said, calling on "countries that back the government to support it and announce major financial allocations that will enable it to carry out its work and perform the tasks for which it returned to Aden".