So much fuss has been made lately about the outreach committee, of which I am a member. There have been many rumors and much criticism based on the misunderstanding that the outreach committee should be representative of the various political parties and powers in the country.

This is wrong. We have been trying to clarify this misunderstanding in the committee’s press statements, and will soon open up to media on a large scale.

The mission of this committee is to reach out to the various elements on the political scene that did not sign the Gulf Initiative agreement last year. We are still at the phase of identifying these elements and establishing the best way to approach them and invite them into the dialogue.

The point is that we need to make sure that no one is excluded. But at the same time, we need to ensure that less established associations are not placed on par with their more established counterparts in demanding equal representation on the preparatory committee for the national dialogue.

We are at the critical stage of creating requirements that will help us filter potential participants and designing a program for approaching them.

The other role that I feel is mine in particular is to help the committee identify unconventional players, such as women’s groups, civil society actors and minorities to also be included in the preparatory committee.

I believe that we can do it, especially with the help and support of the international community, which has been supportive and is already engaging in many outreach activities. We need to coordinate with them and make sure we are on the same page in order to achieve our common goal of creating a successful and inclusive dialogue.

I apologize to the many journalists who had unanswered media requests and calls for press statements. The committee is currently not in a position to provide prompt responses. However, we will respond soon, so please bear with us and help us do our job so that we are able to achieve the best results in order to help Yemen move forward.