Q: Could your brief us on the results of your current visit to Yemen?
A: The relationship between the two countries in the field of education is strong and is full of rich possibilities. As you may know, there are more than 150,000 Yemeni students studying in Saudi Arabia. My discussion with Yemeni Minister of Education Dr. Fadhl Abu Ghanem focused on several issues including sending some of our Saudi teachers to teach in Yemen.
Another agreement related to give opportunities to Yemeni students to study in the teacher training colleges of the Saudi Ministry of Education leading to Bachelor degrees to become efficient teachers in their country.
We have also agreed on reviewing the set curricula to make the content relevant to the socio-academic need of our countries.
There was a consensus on restructuring our books with topics to include values based on the Arab nationalism and stress on the importance of the brotherly relationship we enjoy with Yemen. We also agreed on having frequent visits of students, managers, and instructors to discuss possible future cooperation in the field of education.
We are looking forward to receiving Yemen Minister of Education in Saudi Arabia as we believe his visit will further enhance our relationship and cooperation and create meaningful partnership between our two countries in education.

Q: Do you believe that the strong influence of Saudi Arabia in the region will encourage other Gulf States to follow suit and revitalize their cooperation with Yemen in the field of education?
A: There is a special organization to coordinate educational activities for the Gulf Cooperation Council. I want to assure you that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will do its best to consolidate the steps taken so far to cement the commitment of both leaderships towards cooperation. We hope that this will encourage other states to do the same. We have started our cooperative endeavor which others may emulate.
I had the honor to meet H.E. President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He stressed the importance of education to promote national and Arab values that would serve in the long-run to promote better understanding between the coming generations among the Arab countries. Hence, this will not only serve to strengthen Yemeni-Saudi relations, it will serve to promote Yemeni-Arab relations as well.

Q: You have mentioned that you aim at starting some sort of partnership in education. Could you explain this further?
A: We are seeking a common ground in education to remove all major differences in the issues related to the academic curricula. We have agreed to start partnerships in the form of coordinating the different educational activities similar to what international and Arab educational organizations do.
We have also agreed to identify organize seminars and conferences that would help promote and enhance educational training. This extends to any conference or seminar we hold in Saudi Arabia. We will invite our fellow Yemeni colleagues to these forums. Similarly when Yemen holds conferences or seminars they will invite us. This can be considered a beginning, and efforts to increase cooperation and partnerships will continue after.

Q: You may have noticed Yemen's efforts in the field of vocational and technical training. How can the KSA support Yemen in this respect?
A: Through the cooperation between the Saudi and Yemeni ministries of higher education, technical training, and education, we can support Yemen in its efforts in many ways. President Saleh seemed to give much emphasis to this issue. We also are eager to give this issue the importance it deserves. Only, theoretical studies are not enough. I am confident that the ministers of vocational training in the two countries will rise to the occasion and extend their cooperation further in this regard.

Q: There are several projects that were financed by the KSA. Many of them were completed while others were not. An example is one of the schools in Taiz City. Is there any hope of having these suspended projects completed? And what are the new projects the KSA is going to carry out?
A: As you know, the cooperation between the two countries started a long time ago. We used to send Arab teachers to Yemen to help it recover from the shortage in this regard. However, today, we have many Saudi teachers instead of Arab teachers to be sent to Yemen to help the educational process in the country.
As for the projects you mentioned, I believe the Saudi Development Fund is the authority concerned. I remember that a delegation visited Yemen recently and assessed the situation. It concluded that there indeed is great need for educational and health projects in the country. Such projects were administered by the past by the ministries concerned, but today all projects are administered by the Saudi Development Fund.
I would like to point out that we have been given clear orders to cooperate in all possible ways with the Republic of Yemen. Hence, we believe that anything that will help the educational development in Yemen should be our priority.

Q: During your visit to Aden University, you openly stated that you are keen to promote the exchange of academic expertise between the two countries. Could we expect solid steps to be taken in this direction soon?
A: During my visit to Aden University I met with its rector, Mr. Saleh Ali Basurrah. We explained to him that we need the list of instructors who are currently unemployed to look after their needs and treat them in the same way their brothers are treated in the kingdom.

Q: How do you evaluate the level of education in Yemen?
A: Openly speaking, neither of the two countries satisfied with the level of education. Hence, it is important that we exert more efforts to enhance the level of education. As the Ministry of Education we have our own agency that is responsible for drafting plans to improve education. I believe the same applies to our brothers in Yemen. I was glad to know that there are more than 3.65 million students in Yemen, which marks a significant increase over the years. However, with the increase in number, the increase in quality was also evident, particularly during the last 10 years.

Q: What are your impressions about your first visit to Aden? Don't you feel it could be a potential tourist destination for Saudis in the future?
A: Indeed, this is my first ever visit to Aden. From what I have seen so far, I believe that Aden is qualified to becoming a major investment and tourism destination. There is also a great potential for fishing and many businesses in this beautiful coastal city. In brief, Aden seems to have all the factors of success as a tourist and investment destination.

Q: Can we consider your last sentence an open invitation for Saudi businessmen and citizens to invest and pay visits to Aden?
A: Already, I learned from the Aden Governor that a Saudi businessmen delegation visited Aden recently and expressed interest in investment in the city. I was delighted to know that one of the Saudi investors has already started the procedures to invest in Aden. I do recommend all businessmen to head for Aden and discover the potential in investment in all fields.

Q: How do you assess the tourist activity in the country?
A: Tourist activity has declined remarkably in the past few years owing to many setbacks.

Q: What are these setbacks?
A: First and foremost, is the kidnapping incidents. Secondly, the security escorts. In the past there used to be some difficulties restricting the flow of tourists to the country. However, we pulled together and overcome these obstacles.
However, in the past ten years, kidnapping incidents have been on the rise. Yemen has all the potentials for tourism. However, tourists think the country is risky and insecure. Hence, most of them shun coming to Yemen.
If they venture to come to Yemen, out of their love, they become upset by security escorts which make a mess of the whole thing. The escorts are following outdated procedures with old mentalities, as if we're living with the medieval ages.

Q: In your opinion, what are the options for these old and outdated procedures?
A: We have already made our demands clear and straightforward since the beginning of the kidnapping incidents, especially before the passing of the Kidnapping Law. We have contended that there is a legislation, effective laws, and prevalent tribal norms. If these fail to be implemented there are other options to consider. However, it is those in charge of the law and order who are the reason behind the spread of the kidnapping incidents. Kidnappers may be illiterate and ignorant. They may not know what they are doing. There is no reason to say that they have legitimate demands, because all the people in all over Yemen have legitimate demands. And if these demands are met through kidnapping tourists, the country will turn into an anarchy. There are many peaceful ways that can be adopted to ask for these demands. Citizens in the historical sites and monuments have also to be involved in the tourist activity so that they know how important it is and how beneficial it is for them.

Q: What are the demands of the tourist agencies to improve the limitations of the security procedures?
A: We have already convened many meetings and came out with certain recommendations. However, officials of the Tourism and Culture Ministry were negative in this regard. We, then, contacted the Interior Ministry and held many meetings. However, the Interior Ministry left our demands on the shelf and forgot about them.
We pressed for removing security escorts and checkpoints. The kind of procedures carried out recently considerably impede the tourist activity and investment process. Many foreigners including investors, working in companies are not allowed to travel outside towns unless they have official permits from the travel agency which is also to be referred to the General Authority for Tourism. It is a rather long story. This sort of procedures impede movements of investors and foreigners inside the country. It is unreasonable that the country press for investment at a time it intensifies restrictions on investors' movements within the country.

Q: How do you explain travel warnings to Yemen announced by some countries to their citizens?
A: It is natural as foreigners working in embassies and other companies to find it quite difficult to move outside towns to the countryside or any other place to spend the week end or any other vacation. Instead of facilitating things for them, security bodies put more restrictions on their movements by watching them closely as if suspecting them. These procedures do not fit with the time. It is certain that these foreigners give reports to their countries depicting the state of insecurity. This certainly affects the image of Yemen outside despite the fact that these procedures are unnecessary.

Q: What are the major things that attract tourists to come to the country? Are tourist attractions really qualified to attract tourists?
A: Yemen is not an alien on the world map. Whoever hears the word " Yemen", goes deep in thought to the time he has read about it. Spontaneously, this stimulates his desire to visit the country.
Most of the travel agency programs cover cultural, historical and tourist sites. However, developing these tourist attraction sites and tourist programs hang on security, stability and implementation of law and order. Not the least of which is the cancellation of the security escorts and check points. There are other options to enforce security and stability. If these are put into effect, tourist agencies will certainly develop simultaneously and come up with new techniques to promote tourists' interests in the country. Yemen is rich in tourist potentials comparable to other countries. Programs include culture, history, civilization, nature, etc. Moreover, there is an unexplored sea wealth and beauty in the Red Sea.
Swimming can be of the primary resources of the national revenue and would be a major supporter for the national economy.

Q: It's reported that there are some terrorist groups and hard liner Islamic movements in the country. They are labeled as risky and insecure to citizens by many tourist minded countries. Do you think boosting tourism requires restricting activities and existence of these movements?
A: Yemen has been welcoming all who come to the country, irrespective of their nationalities. However, some Arabs abuse this welcome and attempted to upset security and stability of the country. This makes us have a rather negative view of them. Sometimes, and in many Arab countries, there are many restrictions when it comes to Arabs. However, Yemen embraces all Arabs and welcomes them. The security bodies have to be on the alert to stop these outlaws who abuse Yemen's hospitality.

Q: How do you view tourism promotion amid all these obstacles? What about Yemen's tourist participation outside the country?
A: Tourists coming to the country are the best promoters. Yemen also has an active participation in most of the international exhibitions in tourist exporting countries. Tourist agencies play a major role in promoting tourism. Moreover, films and publications are made in collaboration with the Tourism Promotion Council. However, sometimes, and while tourist exhibitions were being organized, some kidnapping incidents took place. This has adverse results. Security bodies have to shoulder the responsibility of keeping security and stability within the country.
Moreover, we did not agree on the way the Tourism Promotion Council was formed. We have convened some meetings and endorsed some plans. However, for ten months the council was not convened. We do not know how things are run inside the council. We press for the passage of a law to establish the Tourism Promotion Council, endorsing its annual decisions and budget.

Q: As the chairman of the Yemeni society for Travel and Tourist Agencies, what is the role the society plays in the tourism field?
A: Most of the activities of the society are focused inside the country. We have contacts with the Arab Tourist Union. Most of our activities are to follow up on problems stirred up by security bodies.

Q: How do you view smuggling and the destroying of antiquities?
A: Yemen has witnessed many civilizations over the past centuries. Antiquities are spread everywhere in Yemen. The authority has to play a pivotal role in promoting the awareness of people to the importance of these antiquities. They have to feel that its their heritage as well. There is a major role for the General Authority for Antiquities to play in this regard. The authority also has to uncover and disclose whoever trades or destroys antiquities to the public and hold them accountable.
Most of our antiquities are still under ground. A lot of effort, time, energy and money have to be exerted to excavate these antiquities. Foreign support can be attained, however, only when donor countries feel that there is serious and sincere attitude on our part to conduct these projects. For example, there are some international organizations funding some excavation campaigns in Mareb.