NYN | News
Informed sources revealed Thursday that the International Monetary Fund has decided to temporarily suspend its activities in areas controlled by the internationally recognized Aden-based government—a move described as unexpected.
The decision comes after the government failed to implement a set of key recommendations previously required by the Fund, foremost among them the unification of public revenues, raising the customs exchange rate, and asserting full financial and monetary control over all governorates under its jurisdiction—especially Hadramout, which has recently witnessed major on-the-ground shifts after UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces took control of it, according to local media.
The website Yemen Future quoted an economic source in Washington, D.C., as saying that the IMF made a surprise decision on Wednesday to postpone its Executive Board meeting—which had been scheduled to discuss Yemen’s Article IV consultations—indefinitely.
The source indicated that the decision was a direct result of the rapidly evolving security and political developments in the southern governorates.
The source added that this shift was based on recommendations from several internal IMF departments, stressing that the suspension will remain in effect “until further notice,” pending the completion of an urgent assessment of the overall situation of the Yemeni government, which departed the interim capital Aden following the STC’s takeover of Hadramout and Al-Mahra and the political and security turmoil that ensued.
In the same context, the newspaper Aden Al-Ghad quoted a senior government official confirming that the IMF had temporarily halted its activity in government-controlled areas.
The official explained that the decision includes the suspension of several ongoing technical meetings and consultations, including preparations related to the Article IV review, which was expected to be presented to the IMF Executive Board in the coming period.
The government source described the development as a negative indicator regarding the government’s chances of receiving urgent international support, whether for stabilizing the national currency or financing long-discussed economic reform programs.
He added that the suspension of IMF activities indirectly reflects the government’s reaching a dead end in its efforts to enforce control over local authorities in the governorates—particularly oil-rich Hadramout, which had previously refused to deposit its revenues into the Central Bank in Aden before falling under STC control.
This decision coincided with a military campaign launched in recent days by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council to impose its control over Hadramout and Al-Mahra, triggering a severe crisis within the Presidential Leadership Council, heightening political and security tensions, and prompting most members of the Yemeni government to leave Aden for Saudi Arabia to join PLC chairman Rashad Al-Alimi, who had departed the city earlier.
Al-Alimi had described what he called the STC’s “unilateral measures” as a direct undermining of the government’s authority and a serious threat to stability and the future of the political process.
He warned, in remarks carried by the state-run Saba News Agency, of severe economic and livelihood consequences stemming from instability in Hadramout and Al-Mahra—including disruption in salary payments, shortages of fuel needed to operate power plants, worsening humanitarian conditions, and the collapse of economic reforms and donor confidence in the government.
It is worth noting that in its concluding statement from its most recent consultations with the Yemeni government and the Central Bank—held in Amman, Jordan from 28 September to 8 October 2025—the IMF had conditioned continued support on the government’s ability to maintain control over public revenues in all governorates within its domain, and on unifying customs and tax rates.
The Fund warned that the continued refusal of some governorates to remit their revenues to the Central Bank in Aden constitutes a major obstacle to any future financial or funding assistance.
