During his first visit to Aden as US Ambassador to Yemen, Christopher Henzel reiterated on Thursday his country’s support for the internationally recognized Yemeni government and its commitment to work with its leadership to secure a bright future for Yemen. Henzel is in the temporary Yemeni capital along with senior diplomats to discuss the recent situation in the war-ravaged country. During a meeting chaired by Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulamlik, the two sides discussed the situation in Yemen and challenges resulting from the actions of Iran-allied Houthi militias. The PM cited efforts the government has been making to manage the challenges, reinstate basic services and resolve the humanitarian crisis and economic hardships. According to the official Saba news agency, the meeting intended to further increase Yemeni-American bilateral cooperation in different fields to serve the common interests of the two friendly countries and peoples. Henzel reiterated the US administrations support for the Yemeni government and people. Later in a press conference, the American diplomat expressed pleasure to visit Aden for the first time since his appointment. He confirmed his countrys support to efforts exerted by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and the PM to manage challenges, reinstate basic services, pay the salaries of civil servants as well as back the UN-led political process to achieve peace in Yemen and the region. Henzel also said that the American embassy is looking forward to relocating its temporary office in Riyadh to Yemen to operate from within the country. He reiterated the importance of implementing the Stockholm Agreement with the right to monitor the implementation process. For his part, Abdulmalik highly praised the US support to Yemen in different fields including security, migration, passports and humanitarian aid. He said that he discussed with Henzel efforts to counter Iran’s role in Yemen, in particular, and the region in general. He noted that Iran employs its tools, the Houthi rebels, to serve its agenda in a bid to turn Yemen into a launching pad to target neighboring states and international maritime navigation in the Red Sea.