ISTANBUL

Yemen’s new government was sworn in on Monday before Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The state news agency Saba said Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zandani and other cabinet members took the constitutional oath.

On Friday, the presidential council announced the formation of a new government headed by Zandani, who also took the foreign affairs portfolio. The cabinet includes 34 ministers, including three women, following weeks of consultations in Riyadh.

The new government includes several ministers who served in the previous lineup: Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani; Youth and Sports Minister Nayef Al-Bakri; Agriculture, Irrigation and Fisheries Minister Salem Al-Soqatri; Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan; Water and Environment Minister Tawfiq Al-Sharjabi; Industry and Trade Minister Mohammed Al-Ashwal; Public Health and Population Minister Qassem Buhaibeh; and Justice Minister Badr Al-Aradha.

Women were awarded three portfolios in the new cabinet. Afrah Abdulaziz Al-Zouba was appointed minister of planning and international cooperation, a first in the history of Yemeni governments.

Judge Ishraq Fadl Al-Maqtari was appointed minister of legal affairs, while Ahd Mohammed Salem Jaasous was named minister of state for women’s affairs.

The absence of women from the previous government had drawn local and international attention, amid repeated calls to empower women in political positions.

On Jan. 28, the US Embassy in Yemen said it was looking forward to the formation of a new government that includes women.

Zandani was appointed premier on Jan. 16 after the presidential council accepted the resignation of former Prime Minister Salem Saleh bin Breik.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala