Madam President, 

I thank Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya for the briefings. I also welcome the Permanent Representative of Yemen to the meeting today. 

For some time now, the truce in Yemen has been generally holding, and the security and humanitarian situations have continued to turn for the better. The Yemeni Government, the Houthis, and the coalition forces reaffirmed their commitments to the truce at the third meeting of the military coordination committee in Amman. China welcomes these developments. China appreciates the immense efforts made by Special Envoy Grundberg to this end, and hopes that the parties to the conflict in Yemen will continue to cooperate with the Special Envoy in his efforts to safeguard and implement the truce agreement. It is a matter of urgency to open the roads to Taiz as soon as possible. For this Special Envoy Grundberg has put forward several options. The parties concerned should, on the basis of the Special Envoy’s proposals, intensify consultation, meet each other half way, and strive to reach a common understanding expeditiously to alleviate the humanitarian plight of the hundreds of thousands of people in Taiz. 

The truce in Yemen will expire on August 2. Extending the truce is the shared aspiration of the Yemeni people and the international community. And it is in the common interests of all parties in Yemen. China hopes that all parties in Yemen will strengthen their political will, stay committed to the general direction of political settlement, actively push for an extension of the truce, and work together to seek a lasting solution to the Yemeni issue. 

Yemen is experiencing the worst food crisis in recent years. More than 19 million people are facing hunger, and the humanitarian situation is very dire. What’s more, only 26% of Yemen’s humanitarian response plan has been funded. UNVIM and many aid projects of the UN system are about to be suspended or scaled down due to insufficient funding. China welcomes the tireless efforts made by the United Nations and relevant agencies to improve the humanitarian situation in Yemen, and calls on the international community to keep its inputs in Yemen, honor the commitments to assistance, and increase its funding in a bid for simultaneous improvement of the humanitarian and security situations. All parties in Yemen should actively cooperate in the humanitarian operations, and facilitate humanitarian access. A few days ago, Saudi Arabia announced an investment of 400 million US dollars in development projects in Yemen, which I believe will help the Presidential Leadership Council with its economic recovery efforts. 

Madam President,

An open, demilitarized port of Hodeidah is crucial to improving the humanitarian situation in Yemen. UNMHA’s mandate will be expiring on July 15. China supports the Mission in continuing its active role in maintaining the civilian nature of the port of Hodeidah and in carrying out de-mining action. The Mission is an important mechanism of the United Nations in Yemen, and it should play a corresponding role in light of the changes in the situation on the ground. 

I thank you, Madam President.