Yemeni Foreign Minister Khalid al-Yamani revealed on Sunday an overhaul of Yemen’s diplomatic corps, including a revaluation of the situation of embassies and their staff. In a phone interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, the minister said the Yemeni diplomacy needs to restore its status as an important aspect of the military and social efforts required for recuperating the state. “Our country’s diplomacy and our embassies were damaged by Houthi militias, but there are very important upcoming steps to arrange the situation of embassies and to overhaul them in line with our ongoing plan to build the state,” Yamani said. Two months after his appointment, the minister is seeking to reduce the number of staff at Yemeni missions in line with his new plan. “A huge number of diplomats and administrative employees are working outside Yemen, as if we are a super power,” he said. In a telephone call with Asharq Al-Awsat, political researcher Abdullah Ismail said the Yemeni diplomacy faces two challenges. First, activating the diplomatic performance of the foreign ministry, in addition to the diplomatic missions and embassies abroad. “Those entities are suffering from a number of problems mainly not following the vision of the legitimate government in dealing with the Yemeni crisis,” Ismail said. The Yemeni researcher said the second challenge relates to staff. He explained that in the past, employments and appointments in the diplomatic corps were conducted based on favoritism.