Jeddah, (IINA) – Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdul Malik Al-Mekhlafi announced that the Saudi Royal Court has approved residency permits for Yemenis holding “visitor IDs” and valid passports, Arab News reported Thursday.
This comes as an extension of the support received by the Yemeni people through the government of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
Al-Mekhlafi tweeted the news on his Twitter account adding that Yemenis residing in the Kingdom, as well as Yemeni expats in the Gulf who don’t have passports, will get them as soon as possible.
He also said that the Yemeni side has signed a document with its Saudi counterpart to grant legal residency IDs for Yemenis.
The Yemeni foreign minister said that President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi personally directed and followed up on the provision of passports for holders of visitor IDs, while the directives of King Salman came at the request of the Yemeni president.
Social networking sites highlighted the strong interaction from Yemenis inside and outside the country on this issue. Mukhtar Al-Rahbi, the press secretary of the Yemeni president, said: “From the depths of our hearts we say thank you, King Salman, for the decision to grant holders of visitor IDs official residency”.
He added that all other countries have abandoned the Yemeni people but that King Salman’s generosity will be recorded in the annals of history. He also thanked Crown Prince Mohammad bin Naif and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman for their efforts.