Mahyoob al-Kamali
Yemeni-Emirati agreement to establish an investment company is a turning point in the Yemeni-Emirati amicable and good relations. The agreement to this effect was signed by the Yemeni Economic Establishment (YEE) on the Yemeni side and by Bin Shaiban Establishment on the Emirate side.
Many businessmen emphasize the importance of this partnership agreed upon recently in Sana’a. The company will invest in major fields, especially in tourism. Statistics reveal that Yemen is in need of establishing many tourist villages, hotels and trade centers the cost of which exceed YR 5 billion. This will create about 20, 000 job opportunities.
According to the agreement, the Yemeni-Emirati Investment Company Ltd. will start work in the tourist field in a tourist city associated with YEE located in Sheraton, Sana’a. In order to boost the tourism industry in the country, the company is going to set up a modern trade center fully equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and services on 13 thousand m2 costing $ 4 million. The center will be an important tourist site as it will be the first of its kind in the country. It will consist of three floors housing commercial shops, sports halls, restaurants and cafeteria.
Signing the agreement between Bani Shaiban Establishment and Yemeni Economic Establishment is a good proof of the Gulf investors’ interest and trust to come and invest in Yemen. It is also a direct result of the developing bilateral relations between Yemen and UAE. Yemeni businessmen expect that there will be an increase in the flow of capitals from UAE to establish partnerships and invest in the Free Zone of Aden.
Yemeni merchants see the possibilities of establishing trade relations between Aden Port and that of Dubai and the free zone in each port so as to increase trade exchange and to facilitate the flow of products and services to the markets of the two countries.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Shaiban, Bin Shaiban Establishment Board chairman, said “Signing the contract for establishing the Yemeni-Emirati Investment Company Ltd. is the beginning of a new era of cooperation to make use of the support provided by the leaderships of the two countries to invest in Yemen.”
He asserted that there are other plans to invest in Yemen in the near future as Yemen is a promising land full of potentials to be utilized.
During the past four years there have been serious measures taken by the Yemeni government to provide more services and facilities in the Investment Law. It has also been working to improve work in the General Investment Authority (GIA) to provide more facilities for investors, a step taken to attract more investors to the country. Therefore, Yemen is in need of a strong tourist infrastructure which is able to meet the needs of about half a million tourists coming to the country by the 2004 with an annual 5% developing rate.
Thus, the Yemeni-Emirati Investment Company is poised to invest in the tourist field to create and develop tourist infrastructure in Yemen, a step to achieve a real tourism industry in the country.

Under the auspices of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Aden Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be organizing the 5th Conference for Businessmen in Aden during 15-16 January 2001.
The conference will focus on the future challenges facing investment and development of manpower in the Republic of Yemen.
Hundreds of prominent businessmen from Yemen and abroad will be attending the conference which is expected to serve as a stepping stone to create a new vision for the Yemeni economy in the 21st century.
On its part, Yemen Times is delighted to announce that it will be issuing in cooperation with the Aden Chamber for Commerce and Industry a special publication on this occasion covering several topics on investment and economic challenges and prospects in Yemen.
The supplement, which will be distributed to all participants as part of the conference documents and handouts, will also include interviews with Yemeni businessmen and representatives of influential companies in Yemen in which they would express their ideas, proposals, and recommendations.
It is worth mentioning that the 4th Businessmen Conference also held in Aden last year was quite successful, and also had a similar supplement issued by Yemen Times.
On another level, under the motto “The 21st Century and the Challenges Facing Investment”, a special gathering of businessmen and investors will be held in Aden on 14 January, 2001. It would be a preparatory stage before the 5th Conference for Businessmen, to be held in Aden the following day (15 January), in which several key topics regarding investment and business in Yemen would be discussed.

The Saudi “Al-Mabani” Company won the bid to demarcate the Yemeni-Saudi border in an agreement between the company and German Company “HANSA”, which is the main contractor for the project. The cost of the demarcation process is estimated to be more than 1 billion Saudi Rials, and would demarcate the border of more than 1,500 km in length.

The total number of requests submitted to launch investment projects in the Aden Free Zone reached 780 by last week, of which 456 would start within the coming few months with a total cost approaching $41 million. These projects would be built in an area of more than 1000 square kms and would provide more than 1,200 job opportunities to Yemenis in different fields of specialization.

The Aden branch of the General Committee for Investment announced that the approved investment projects for Aden reached 47 with a total cost of 4 billion and 192 million rials. The committee added that once completed, the projects would provide more than 1,193 positions for employees and skilled workers in the fields of industry, education, and tourism. Among the projects, there are 11 tourism projects and 15 industrial projects.

The total value of the exported fruits and vegetables from Yemen reached last year more than $100 million, which is a clear indication of self-sufficiency of locally produced fruits and vegetables in the make of importing fruits and vegetables worth more than $400 million. It is worth mentioning that this productivity level has been achieved with the help of the World Food Organization and the government’s strategies to secure food resources and increase crop productivity.