The Saudi embassy in Yemen has reopened after months of shutdown in protest at the detention of a Saudi diplomat in the south in March, the Yemeni news agency Saba reported Monday, quoting a statement by the Saudi ambassador to Sanaa.
"The Saudi consulate has already started giving visas for Yemenis normally and through all accredited offices and agencies," ambassador Ali Muhammad Al-Hamdan was quoted as saying at a meeting with President Abdrabu Mansour Hadi.
The embassy was shut down in April after the Yemeni authorities failed to release the Saudi deputy consul, Al-Khaledi, who was kidnapped by Al-Qaeda near his residence in the port city of Aden.
Al-Khaledi has appeared twice in videotapes appealing to the Saudi king for his release.
According to official statements, Yemen lost tens of thousands of jobs during the shutdown of the embassy, which has recently triggered public rage including those who needed visas to perform hajj and omra.
At the meeting, Al-Hamdan extended an invitation to Hadi to the extraordinary summit of Muslim leaders which is scheduled to be held in Mecca next month or on Ramadan 26-27, Saba reported.
The two discussed the bilateral relationship in all areas and the latest developments in Yemen topped by the implementation of the power-transfer deal, which was brokered by the GCC and backed by the West after the 2011 turmoil.
Al-Hamidi assured that his country will continue to support Yemen during the transitional period until the country leaves the current situation, according to Saba.