President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi attended on Saturday at the Republican Palace the closing ceremony of the National Dialogue Conference.

The ceremony was held in the presence of senior state officials, leaders of political parties and civil society organizations, as well as high-level delegations of foreign countries, particularly the ten countries sponsoring the Gulf Initiative, the Arab League and the United Nations, who all hailed the historic achievement.

The Celebration was attended by President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti along with the Chairman of the Ministerial Council of the GCC- Kuwaiti First Deputy of the Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Saudi and Bahraini Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs, Nizar Madani and Ghanem Al-Buainain, respectively, Qatari Minister of Youth and Sport Salah Al-Ali, a US State Department official, GCC Secretary General Abdulateef Al-Zayani, Arab League Deputy Secretary General Ahmad bin Hilli and UN Secretary General special envoy to Yemeni Jamal Benomar.

President Hadi said that the success of the National Dialogue Conference was made by a pure Yemeni will with a national outlook.

"The National Dialogue Conference was a revival of Yemeni wisdom which was absent, but has never been dead inside us," Hadi said in a ceremony held to mark the conclusion of the NDC, which had been due to last six months but was extended for a further four in the face of obstacles.

"However, it is a record if we consider the complexity and difficulties that were coupled with the dialogue's launch."

In his speech, Hadi congratulated the Yemeni people on this great historical achievement. "This day will be a hallmark in the life of this great people, who are hungering for the better and more honorable future that they deserve after being deprived for decades, maybe centuries."

"The dialogue was your demand and the modern civil state was your dream," he said, stressing that it was unmatched in the Arab world and heralded a new page in the country's history.

"The dialogue experience was a clear message of what Yemenis can do if they have good intentions and proper environment."

The President underlined that the post-dialogue stage does not ever look like the stage before, adding "What is important is that we have passed a stage of just talking about our issues to find practical solutions to them, and this is the essence of the real change."

Hadi also highlighted the steps to be taken after the conclusion of the conference, saying that he would soon form two committees; one tasked with handling the regions and the other to draft a new constitution.

"All have made painful concessions and put the interests of Yemen first, so the result was historic by all standards through reaching a consensus on more than 2,000 outcomes, including constitutional and legal guidelines as well as recommendations to amend general policy."

The President said that one government cannot implement all the tasks contained in the NDC's final document, adding that the current government would start carrying out a part of them until holding the elections and the subsequent governments in the region will continue the process.

The NDC Secretary General, Ahmed bin Mubarak, said that deep differences led to the delay until they reached convincing resolutions, including a just one for the south.

UN envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar praised in his speech the NDC that concluded today in Yemen as “unprecedented” in the country and the region. A senior United Nations official said the outcomes of the yearlong talks will serve as a “roadmap for a new Yemen”.

“You have presented an opportunity to create a new social contract and to meet the aspirations of Yemeni women and men for a country governed by the rule of law, justice, human rights, equal citizenship, democracy and good governance,” Jamal Benomar, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Adviser said in Sana'a.

“The National Dialogue was no picnic but an onerous journey interrupted by considerable obstacles and challenges that sometimes reached the extent of sacrificing life,” he said, paying homage to number of delegates who were killed, threatened or attempted to be bribed during the months of the plenaries.

Despite its “difficult birth”, it yielded “consensual, clear and detailed principles”, Mr. Benomar said at the ceremony.

The envoy, who is due to brief the Security Council on Tuesday, said he would present to the 15-Member and to the international community the story behind “this unprecedented achievement”.

“I will tell the world about a civilized Yemeni scene that we have witnessed closely over the past period,” he said. “It has become an inspiration to many other nations, particularly in light of the disorder, uncertainty and tragedies other countries in the region continue to suffer.”

He stressed that the UN as well as international and regional communities would continue to support and stand by Yemen's side throughout its transition.

Benomar, who participated in the Final Plenary chaired by President Hadi, also reaffirmed the support of the UN and the international community to the Yemeni-led political process.

Turning to the so-called “southern question”, he noted that a fair solution under a new unified state on a federal and democratic basis was at the core the talks.

Mr. Benomar said he was confident that Southerners would be “immune to calls for violence, which aim to force them into a dark tunnel” and urged them to “be responsive” to the outcome of the dialogue, which was agreed to and signed by all constituents.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon praised the success of Yemen's talks in a video message aired by Yemeni State TV, vowing more support to the Yemeni president and Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa.

Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Abdullatif al- Zayani congratulated the outcomes of the reconciliation talks and said "the leader of the Gulf countries hopes to see the implementation of the outcomes of the Yemeni dialogue, the drafting of a new constitution, and the holding of presidential elections in the time frame stated by the deal to build the future of Yemen."