ADEN // The UAE has already paid the salaries of employees in Yemen's state electricity department and will help to pay the salaries of all government employees in the future, the spokesperson for the government in Aden has said.

Rageh Badi said during a press conference late on Friday that the details of how this would work still needed to be discussed.

His comments came as Yemeni prime minister Khaled Bahah thanked the UAE's envoy to Yemen, Mubarak Al Jabri, for his country's assistance.

More than 8,000 tons of aid has reached Aden so far this month, and on Friday the Emirates Red Crescent distributed clothes to the children of pro-government fighters killed in battle. The UAE is also working to repair more than 153 schools in several districts of Aden, while rehabilitation and support is being provided to various hospitals.

The Emirates has made support for Aden's electricity department a priority so that power could be restored to the city.

"We paid the salaries for the electricity employees as we needed them to install the new electricity stations in Aden and these employees are responsible for repairing the stations," UAE Brigadier General Abdullah Al Dhaheri said.

The general said the UAE had paid Dh10,520,000 in salaries to 885 electricity company employees. In addition, the Emirates funded the Dh50,000,000 needed for the installation of the 22 May station in the Aden district of Al Sheikh Othman, as well as Dh24,660,000 to cover the installation of the Khour Maksar station, he added.

Gen Al Dhaheri also said that the UAE was paying for Aden's small electricity stations to be repaired - at a cost of Dh40,000,000 - and would contribute a further Dh66,000,000 towards the installation of generators at the 22 May station.

The UAE had also provided financial support to Aden's water department, paying Dh17,637,931 - six months' worth of back pay - to 2,010 of the department's employees, according to Gen Al Dhaheri.

"We will continue to pay the salaries of the electricity and water departments in Aden, until the Yemeni government can return to the normal conditions and can pay the salaries of the government employees," Gen Al Dhaheri said.

However, he said that he did not have any information about the UAE paying the salaries of other government departments.

"I do not know any details about the salaries of the other departments, but if there is agreement between [the UAE's envoy to Yemen] Al Jabri and the Yemeni government, then only we can implement the agreement," he added.

foreign.desk@thenational.ae