JEDDAH: Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of the newly established Yemeni presidential council arrived in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Wednesday, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, state-run news agency SPA reported. Upon his arrival at King Abdulaziz International Airport, Al-Alimi was received by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, adviser to King Salman and governor of Makkah, and Mohammed Al Jaber, the Kingdom’s ambassador to Yemen, along with a number of other officials. Al-Alimi arrived in the Kingdom from the temporary capital, Aden, on an official visit, Yemen’s SABA news agency reported. Yemen’s internationally recognized presidential council was sworn in last week in the southern port city of Aden, before the parliament in a ceremony attended by foreign ambassadors and the US and UN envoys to Yemen, SABA had said. On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Al-Alimi in a phone call and encouraged the new leader to work toward a lasting peace amid rare bright spots after seven years of devastating war. Blinken voiced support for a UN-brokered two-month truce between the government and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that has largely held since April 2, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The presidential council was appointed earlier this month after former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi stepped aside. Hadi transferred his powers and those of his vice president to the council, which will run the country and lead peace talks with the Iran-backed Houthi militia. (With AFP and AP)