Yemeni Government representatives were expected to join a rebel delegation in Sweden on Wednesday for high-stakes peace talks aimed at ending four years of devastating war.
A 12-member team from the Saudi-backed government headed by Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani left Riyadh early Wednesday, sources told AFP, a day after rebel delegates landed in Stockholm accompanied by the UN peace envoy.
The first Yemen talks since 2016 are widely seen as the best chance yet for peace, as the international community throws its weight behind efforts to resolve a conflict that has pushed the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of famine.
The Government delegation was carrying the "hopes of the Yemeni people to achieve sustainable peace", the head of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's office, Abdullah al-Alimi, said in a tweet.
The delegation had delayed its departure until the rebels had arrived in Stockholm after they failed to show up for the last UN bid to convene peace talks in September, sources close to the Government told AFP.