Secretary General Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak accompanied NDC member teams on Sunday when they met with local government officials from Yemen’s Lahj and Abyan governorates.

The meeting was held in Aden governorate and the participating NDC teams were composed of members from the Military and Security, National Issues and Transitional Justice, Independence of Special Entities, and Development Working Groups. 

During the meeting, NDC member Nasser Al-Tawil delivered a speech on the NDC and progress made thus far in discussions of key issues.

He said the NDC teams were looking forward to cooperating with peaceful movements for change and local governments in Lahj and Abyan in the development of solutions and shared visions of Yemen’s future state.

“The team from the Army and Security Working Group will get acquainted with the job of the presidential committees in charge of addressing wrongly confiscated lands and wrongful terminations,” he said.

Lahj Governor Ahmed Al-Majeedi stressed the importance of holding more such meetings and spotlighted the challenges facing local government institutions in Lahj.

For his part, Abyan Governor Jamal Al-Aqil said local government office in Abyan, Lahj and Dhale would facilitate the NDC teams as they carried out their tasks. In particular, he stated that the teams would be enabled to acquaint themselves with the situation of people who had been displaced as a result of fighting between the military and Al-Qaeda militants.

“90% of the displaced people have returned to their homes and we have launched the Abyan Rebuilding Fund with the use of a first round of financial compensation,” he said.

Dhale Governor Ali Qasim Talib spoke about development and insecurity challenges in his governorate.

"Unknown groups were involved in acts of sabotage, but not the Southern Movement,” he said.

He added that Southern Movement followers had been cooperating with local government offices in Dhale and also that they had prevented militants from infiltrating the area.

After the governors finished speaking, discussions were held on the role of local governments in addressing issues of public concern, including the those displaced by war in Abyan, infrastructure, basic services, finding solutions to the southern issue, boosting security and combating militants, and making productive contributions to the NDC.