New Delhi, July 26 (Reporter) India’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Suhel Ajaz Khan (an IFS of the 1997 batch), has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to Yemen, with residence in Riyadh, a statement said. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. The Indian Ambassador in a post on X said that he looks forward to working closely with the Internationally Recognized Government in Yemen for strengthening the bilateral ties. “It is a matter of great honour for me to be given this additional responsibility-concurrent accreditation to Yemen. “I look forward to working closely with the Internationally Recognized Government in Yemen for strengthening India-Yemen relations.” The Indian Ambassador tagged the Yemeni PM Ahmed A. Bin Mubarak, who was formerly the foreign minister, and the foreign ministry of Yemen. The appointment comes amid the rising tensions in the Middle East, due to the Gaza war, with the Iran-backed Houthi militia striking maritime navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which has caused harm to global shipping. The appointment also comes amid rising number of Yemenis coming to India for medical treatment, including many Yemeni soldiers. In December last year, the Centre had told the Delhi High Court that India does not have diplomatic ties with Yemen and it has closed down its Embassy there. The response came after the Delhi High Court asked the Central Government its willingness to allow the mother of a Kerala woman and three others to travel to Yemen to save her daughter who was on death row. In a special hearing held on December 2, the court had issued a notice to the Centre on the mother's plea seeking facilitation of her travel to Yemen to negotiate with the victim's family about paying 'blood money' to save her daughter from the gallows. The plea filed by the mother of Nimisha Priya, an Indian citizen who has been sentenced to death in Yemen for the murder of a Yemeni national, contends that the Centre did not grant permission to her and advised her and other accompanying persons not to go to that country at this juncture. The Centre's counsel told the court that as India does not have diplomatic ties with Yemen and has closed down its Embassy there, it would not be desirable for the petitioner to go there. "The situation in the Middle East is not good. India will not be able to help if anything happens to the petitioner there. We don't want a ransom demand situation arising there," the Centre submitted to the court. Earlier, on May 7, President Aidarous Qassem Al-Zubaidi, President of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) of Yemen and Vice President of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), had praised the strong bilateral relations with the friendly Republic of India. President Al-Zubaidi said this when he received the Military Attaché at the Indian Embassy, Colonel Gurtej Singh Grewal. The two sides discussed ways to strengthen strong bilateral relations and to expand the horizons of joint cooperation between Aden and New Delhi. President Al-Zubaidi was briefed by Colonel Grewal on the efforts made by the Indian Embassy to facilitate the procedures for patients, travellers, and Yemeni students to India to obtain visas through a camp that was inaugurated by the embassy in the capital, Aden, to clear procedures and resolve problems facing Yemeni people who travel to India. The two sides also reviewed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the military and security aspects by increasing the number of scholarships provided by India to raise the capabilities of security and military personnel and train employees in other government sectors, the statement said. In this context, President Al-Zubaidi praised the great support provided by the Republic of India in the fields of qualification and training and support for the health and education sectors. For his part, the Military Attaché at the Indian Embassy reiterated the position of his country's government in support of the PLC and the government and its readiness to double the humanitarian aid provided to the country in various fields...////...