Unity Day: What does it mean to you?
Government plans to stimulate Yemen’s economy
Yemen’s economy witnessed a sharp deterioration during the last year due to turmoil and lax security in the country. However, the Yemeni riyal has begun to recover against the US dollar recently because of the new political stability and improved security.
The Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Mohammed Al-Asadi, revealed last month that Yemen needs about 15 billion USD to revive the weak economy.
Last week, Abdul-Latif Al-Zayani, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) told President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi that the Gulf countries are going to support Yemen through the Friends of Yemen Conference that will be held in April 2012.
The London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper said that President Hadi has discussed with Al-Zayani the possibility of supporting Yemen’s currency by providing the Yemen Central Bank with 5 billion USD as a bank deposit.
According to economists, one of the biggest challenges facing Yemen is economic. Salah Al-Maqtari, assistant professor of economy at Sana’a University, told the Yemen Times that an improvement in Yemen’s economy depends entirely upon political reform.
“We cannot improve our economy without real political reform,” he said.
Al-Maqtari criticized the current government for pursuing international support and said that Yemen has alternatives and resources that may boost Yemen’s economy.
“I don’t think that Gulf countries are going to provide the Yemeni government with huge support,” he said. “They always promise to support Yemen but they don’t achieve their promises.”
He indicated that the current high price of oil and diesel can help Yemen’s deteriorated economy. He also stressed the importance of drying up the sources of corruption.
“Unfortunately, corruption is still rampant and there is no plan to rationalize expenditure,” he said. “These factors contribute highly to economy deterioration.”
carpinteyrodtu 13.03.2013 at 02:48