Talks to end the conflict in Yemen, to be held in Riyadh next week, may have representatives from across the country, including Sanaa, held by the Houthi rebels.
The Gulf Co-operation Council, or GCC, has invited members of Yemen's internationally recognised government and representatives of the Houthi rebels for discussions between March 29 and April 7 in Saudi Arabia's capital.
The aim is to drive forward the UN’s incentive to halt the eight-year civil war. The push by the GCC comes in response to the aspirations of the Yemeni people and the support of the international community in ending the war.
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“The GCC has invited all components of Yemen and has not excluded anyone, this includes politicians, writers, military leaders, women, members of civil society and the youth,” an official of the council told Ashaq Al Awsat.
“The consultations will be held with who will be attending, they are for all of Yemen’s different components,” the newspaper quoted the person as saying.
The GCC has stressed that the solution to ending the war will have to be come from the Yemenis themselves.
More than 500 people have been invited to the talks next week, the GCC said. The initiative will support a comprehensive solution to peace in Yemen.
"The consultations must target everyone," the official said. "Everyone has the right to attend and we will see new faces in the consultations.”
The talks will aim to “unite ranks, heal rifts between Yemen’s different components, strengthen state institutions, and create an approach that pushes them to the consultations table".
The focus will be on six factors, including the military and security axis and the implementation of a ceasefire.
The political process will also feature high in the agenda, along with the strengthening of state institutions, administrative reforms and government as well as combating corruption.
The humanitarian factor will be taken into account, as also the axis of stability and economic recovery through urgent measures to stop the collapse of the Yemeni currency.
The talks will also focus on achieving stability and recovery for basic services to continue and receive direct support from donors.
Yemen has been in a state of stalemate for nearly eight years since the government was ousted by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in 2014.
Previous efforts to end the conflict failed due to a lack of trust between the warring sides.
The war in Yemen began when the Houthis took over the capital Sanaa in 2014, triggering a civil war that has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
