Dubai: The first meeting of the Friends of Yemen will focus on the political process; international support for the implementation of the IMF programme; more effective international donor support; and ways to maintain Yemen’s borders.
The meeting between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Yemen, will take place in New York on September 24. It follows a similar high level meeting in London last January and comes ahead of a ministerial meeting in Riyadh, to take place either on December 2010 or January 2011.
Following the announcement of the meeting, Alistair Burt, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for the Middle East said: “The UK is committed to working closely with Yemen and its neighbours, and I am delighted that the Yemeni, Saudi Arabian and UK Governments have been able to announce jointly this ministerial meeting of the Friends of Yemen. This is a new step forward in the coordinated international support for Yemen’s efforts to promote development and counter terrorism.
“Yemen faces many challenges. It’s important for the people of Yemen, but also for the UK and the rest of the international community, that social and economic progress is achieved to bring about the development and increased security that they need and deserve.”
