Fadl al-Jaadi, member of the Presidium of the Southern Transitional Council, and Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidium, met on Thursday in the capital Aden with the US National Democratic Institute delegation, which scheduled to resume its main center in Yemen from the capital, Aden.

Al-Jaadi affirmed that the Southern Transitional Council welcomed all efforts that would develop the political process and consolidate the active participation of southerners, whether in the Presidential Council or in other bodies resulting from the Riyadh consultations, including the Consultation and Reconciliation Commission.

Al-Jaadi renewed the demand that regulations govern the work of all bodies, including the Presidential Council, in order for tasks to be determined according to the regulations, and for the exclusion of southerners not to be repeated, as the northerners’ monopoly and exclusivity in decision-making is what made the situation become worse.

Al-Jaadi also criticized the dedication of major countries not to deal with the Presidency Council as a single bloc, and the monopoly of one of its parties in the decision, which threatens the failure of the mission for which the Council was established, stressing the need for clarity in the political process in all its dimensions.

Al-Jaadi concluded that the presence of the Transitional Council within the Presidential Leadership Council was imposed by the need to unify the ranks and fronts against the Houthi militia, despite the fundamental differences between its members, as the government's random work, and its failure to manage the service file and the economic file made the situation worse, stressing that the southerners have a goal they seek to achieve and they cannot accept that they are a bargaining card, and that there is no peace or stability except with the two-state solution and a return to before 1990.

In turn, Mr. Leslie Campbell affirmed the institute's interest in Yemeni affairs throughout their existence, and the role it plays in assisting political parties and civil society in building a democratic system and rebuilding state institutions, indicating that the meeting with the delegation of the Southern Transitional Council comes in order to gather opinions and provide support in line with the requirements of the political process. 

 The meeting was attended by Anis Al Sharafi, Deputy Head of the General Department of Foreign Affairs, Head of the Decision Making Support Center, Dr. Khaled Bamdhaf, Rasha Farid, Member of Policy and Planning in Foreign Affairs, and on behalf of the Institute, Mr. Kenza Arqantit, Senior Director of the Institute in Yemen, and a number of senior staff at the Institute.  .