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Friends of Yemen to discuss security and transitional period
Media outlets said that the prime minster, Mohammed Salem Basindawa, will head the Yemeni Delegation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The conference is scheduled to be held in Riyadh on May 23, a step ahead of the Donors Conference that will be held in London in June.
The Interior Minister, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and the Minister of Foreign Affairs will accompany the Prime Minister.
Sources pointed out that Yemen and Saudi Arabia are coordinating efforts to invite international officials to attend the conference.
Among those invited are United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and the UN General Secretary’s Special Advisor to Yemen, Jamal Ben Omar.
The Friends of Yemen is a group of donor countries including the five permanent members of the Security Council and the Gulf States. The group was set up in 2010 with the aim at helping Yemen to overcome its security and economic challenges.
The Supreme Preparatory Committee of the Friends of Yemen Conference, run by Basindawa, confirmed on Tuesday that the conference is going to review a number of working papers and government plans created by ministries and relevant authorities. It indicated that the working papers will cover political, economic and security issues.
Economic expert, Mohammed Al-Maitami, noted that the Friends of Yemen Conference will not be confided to the economy. “However, the political situation is crucial as well. The conference will focus on supporting the transitional government, the national dialogue, drafting a constitution, security, water and other humanitarian issues regarding displaced people and refugees.
He added, “The conference will enable the International Community to renew its support for the transitional period, and will be a great help in implementing the GCC initiative.”
The deputy of the International Planning Minister, Abdulaziz Abdalghani, said in an interview with the state-run daily newspaper Al-Thawra that the reconciliation government will present a document during the conference that will include the top development priorities of the country.
He added that the document takes into account the provision of oil derivatives, in addition to filling the 2012 budget deficit and encouraging investment.
Abdalghani noted that there is another document on Yemen that the United Nations, European Union and World Bank created. The two documents will be presented in the Friends of Yemen Conference and Donors Conference.
