Yemen's warring parties agreed to a ceasefire in the strategic Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the close of peace talks in Sweden on Thursday.

He said the port will be placed under the control of local forces.

"We have reached an agreement on Hodeidah port and city. We will see a neutral redeployment of forces in the port and city and the establishment of a governorate-wide ceasefire," Guterres told a press conference in Rimbo, outside Stockholm.

He said he was glad that real progress was being made in Sweden, describing the deal as a big step for the Yemeni people.

Guterres added that the agreement included the deployment of neutral forces and the establishment of humanitarian corridors. A political framework will be discussed in a next round of meetings scheduled for January.

Eighty percent of Yemen's commercial goods, aid and fuel flows from the Hodeidah port. Aid agencies have warned that even a small amount of damage to the port's facilities and a halt in aid deliveries would exacerbate the food crisis that has plagued the country. 

(Top image: Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom (L), UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C) and UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths attend the Yemen peace talks closing press conference at the Johannesberg castle in Rimbo, Stockholm, December 13, 2018. /VCG Photo)