Editor’s note: Dr. Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi served as Yemen’s foreign minister from 2001-2014, beginning in the aftermath of the October 2000 USS Cole bombing in Aden’s port, which shaped Yemen’s diplomatic agenda for more than a decade. Dr. Al-Qirbi, a member of the General People’s Congress (GPC) party founded by the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was involved in negotiating…

The Sixth Yemen Exchange launched its two-week online program on August 3, 2020, bringing together over 50 participants from around the world who aim to gain unique access to information, perspectives, updates and analysis on Yemen. The opening session hosted Sana'a Center Executive Director Majed al-Madhaji and Senior Researcher Abdulghani al-Iryani who gave a deep dive into the political alliances,…

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has been the gatekeeper for UN efforts in Yemen for almost a decade. With a tortuous process where progress seems to come and go, some diplomats from member states of the UNSC have privately expressed disappointment that the Council is always “reacting” rather than “acting” when it comes to Yemen. The Security Council’s ability…

Yemeni President Abdo Rabbu Mansour Hadi is doing his best to prevent an end to the conflict in Yemen. Ensuring that last year’s Riyadh Agreement – meant to mend divisions with his rivals in southern Yemen – never gets implemented is only his latest venture in this regard. Hadi’s tenure has been a case study in parasitic statesmanship, in which…

On June 20, the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) seized control of the island governorate of Socotra, overthrowing the Yemeni government-backed local authority. The Yemeni government, which is also battling with the separatist forces in Abyan, labeled the STC’s takeover as yet another coup. The two sides are involved in a power struggle in southern Yemen, which escalated with the STC’s declaration in late April that it would institute self-rule in governorates that were part of the former South Yemen. 

The Sixth Yemen Exchange is an abbreviated intensive online version of the Yemen Exchange organized by the Sana’a Center and The Exchange Foundation.