Friends of Yemen conference tackles economic and political reform

Ribal al-Dayekh in Abu Dhabi and Faisal Darem in Sanaa contributed to this report
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-03-30

[GEORGE MAROUN] Delegates met in Abu Dhabi to discuss ways to help Yemen's security and economy.

Representatives from 20 countries attended the Friends of Yemen conference on economy and governance March 29th-30th at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. The delegates discussed ways to support Yemen, increase its security and military capability and strengthen its economy and development efforts.

"The need is increasingly urgent for the mobilisation of (financial) resources" promised at the London conference in 2006, the Yemeni deputy minister of planning and international co-operation Hisham Sharaf Abdullah told the meeting. He said the billions promised were needed to "reduce poverty and unemployment" in Yemen.

Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of the conference that Yemen requires $44 billion to implement its 4th Five Year Plan for Economic and Social Development 2011-2015.

The meeting, co-chaired by the United Arab Emirates and Germany, followed the January 27th London conference, where 25 states and international organisations participated in a discussion about Yemen's current problems.

In addition to the Yemeni delegation, the meeting was attended by Khaled Ghanem al-Ghaith, the UAE assistant foreign minister, representatives of the general secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the European Union, the United Nations, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the Khalifa Ben Zayed Charity Foundation.

Abdullah told Al-Shorfa that the Friends of Yemen meeting identified the challenges the Yemeni government is encountering, in order to provide support for Sanaa.

He said that groups were formed during the conference to work on developing and determining Yemen's needs. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will lead the group on economic reforms while Germany and the Netherlands will focus on economic and political reforms.

Abdullah said that papers will be prepared by these groups and presented to donors during the next meeting in Berlin. The date for the Berlin conference has not been set yet.

He said the main challenges obstructing development in Yemen are population growth, a rise in unemployment among youths, water scarcity, weak governance, in addition to problems of extremism and terrorism.

The meetings will also focus on addressing the issues of development and good governance in Yemen, since they represent the practical translation of recommendations made during the London meeting for the support of Yemen, the deputy minister said, adding that donor countries had not set conditions for Yemen, except for co-operation and joint dialog.

Dr. Muhammed Al-Qabati , head of the foreign relations department with the ruling National Congress party, told Al-Shorfa that "these conferences are part of enhancing the partnership with the international community". He highlighted "the importance of partnership and rallying the efforts of the international community in standing on Yemen's side in facing its challenges."

Al-Qabati said that the assistance provided to Yemen sought to increase security and stability in the country, which in turn guarantees regional security and stability.

Economist Ali Muhammed Al-Wafi, however, said in a statement to Al-Shorfa that there was a lack of serious examination of most of Yemen's problems in those conferences. He described the Riyadh conference, held in late February as consisting of technical meetings, and he believed the representation of donors was modest.

He said, "Yemen did not get any new funds. The conference did not come out with clear proposals so that Yemen can receive the remaining financial pledges as promised by donors."

Al-Wafi said the Yemeni government presented four demands to the Riyadh conference: bridging the funding gap, estimated at $39 billion annually, overcoming the deficit in the state's general budget with $2.6 billion dollars annually, forming the Friends of Yemen Fund as a new mechanism to raise external resources and help Yemen receive them, in addition to the demand of containing the Yemeni workforce in the GCC markets.

He said that Yemen's internal problems need comprehensive reform and that the Yemeni government's proposed solutions need years to execute.

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