Saudi Arabia on Saturday welcomed a request by Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council to host a conference in Riyadh aimed at resolving the crisis in southern Yemen and bringing together all southern political factions.

In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on “all southern components to actively participate in the conference in order to develop a comprehensive vision for fair solutions to the southern issue, in line with the legitimate aspirations of the people of the south.”

The ministry said the move comes in response to a request by the Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, who called for holding an inclusive conference in Riyadh to bring all southern parties to the dialogue table and discuss ways to address the crisis.