The Red Sea port of Al Hudaydah, and the so-named city, has been a major flash point in this war. Since June, the population of the city has dwindled to 150,000, during months of severe fighting. Every month the U.N. food program provides aid to eight million people, but my colleagues are bracing for the threat of famine as many more millions of Yemenis cannot afford to buy food even where it is available.

I believe that this week’s meeting in Sweden can bring good news for Al Hudaydah, and for the people of Yemen. We have been working to reach a negotiated agreement to spare both the city and port the threat of destruction, and guarantee the full operation of the port. Reaching such a deal will not only put an end to the battles but also save the main humanitarian pipeline for the people of Yemen from being obstructed or destroyed. This will help ensure that the looming specter of famine is chased away.

Over the past weeks, both parties have showed their willingness to make significant humanitarian gestures. Some of the prisoners of war from both parties, who have not been allowed to contact their families in four years of war, were finally allowed to do so. Fifty Yemenis were able to fly out from Sana to Muscat to get treatment — something that has not happened for years. As we convene in Sweden, we will announce the signing of the long-awaited agreement on the exchange of prisoners, the first formal agreement between the two parties since the beginning of this conflict. Thousands of families in Yemen, who have been waiting for their missing relatives, can finally expect to be reunited with their loved ones.

These political consultations in Sweden are the first step toward putting Yemen on the path to peace. I hope that by the end of this round, the Yemeni parties will agree on the outline of an eventual comprehensive agreement, which will then be submitted to the United Nations secretary general and then to the Security Council for endorsement. I hope it will become a public road map to peace.

As a mediator, I believe that ending a war is not the same as building peace. In any peace process, the leading role goes to those who can stop the fighting, then the people at large whose nation deserves peace and whose families, now victims, may become beneficiaries. Over months of meetings with Yemenis from diverse backgrounds, I found that they are marvelous at finding common cause and masters of the art of sitting together to reach agreement.