Donors lift up support to Yemen during 1990-2009

By: Adel al-Solwi
Translated by Bashir al-Solwi

SANA'A, May 20 (Saba) – The level of cooperation between Yemen and
international donors has witnessed significantly a qualitative
development during the nineteen years period of Yemen's unification
(1990-2009) as the ceiling of aid and soft loans granted to Yemen
increased nearly four times more than before.

The number of donors to Yemen has reached 28 countries and 44
international, regional non-governmental organizations in 2009,
comparing with 12 donors during 1990-2004.

The growing improvement of Yemen's superior relations with the
donors has resulted in rising the ceiling of their contributions to
support the development process in the country, where the European
Union increased its developmental aid to € 81 million for 2007-2010,
comparing with $280 million during a 14 year period (1990-2004).

For its part, World Bank (WB) has enhanced its contributions to
Yemen's developmental plans as its annual support amounted to $135
million until 2009 at a qualitative increase of $ 45 million from
the previous ceiling estimated to $ 90 million in addition to
approving a Country Aid Strategy (CAS) of $ 415 million during
2006-2009. The total sum of aid and soft loans offered by the WB to
Yemen amounted $ 1.4 million during 1990-2004.

In addition, France has raised its developmental support to Yemen
during 2007-2011 to reach €100 million as well as joining Yemen to a
list of the countries that receive the French developmental support.

Whereas the French support to Yemen during 1990-2004 was only
limited in a finite developmental aid which did not overlap $ 30
million, France devoted € 4 million to support the Yemeni
government's efforts to carry out its developmental, economic and
social plan for 2007-2011 under an agreement of the developmental
partnership signed by the two countries last February.

Moreover, the United Kingdom has boosted its support volume to Yemen
to reach £117 million ($230 million) as it singed a partnership
ten-year agreement with Yemen, where the British support to Yemen
was limited at $ 28 million during 1990-2004, showing an outstanding
development in the cooperation ties between Yemen and Britain.

The Netherlands, one of the most important donors to Yemen, recently
announced lifting up 50 per cent of its allowances of supporting
developmental projects in Yemen during 2007-2009.

The Dutch aid to the Arab country has amounted to $142 million
during 1990-2001, including $52 million until 1996, whereas the aid
increased nearly $80 million during 1997-2001 and presented $10
million addition later.

For Germany, it has listed Yemen within the list of 60 countries
chosen to receive the German developmental support, where its annual
ceiling has reached € 73 million, including € 50 million was devoted
as a financial aid and € 32 million as a technical assistance.

The UN World Food Program (WFP)'s food aid to Yemen has amounted $
48 million during 2007-2011, whereas the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) approved in 2009 changing its
developmental loans presented to Yemen into developmental
assistances.

Meanwhile, Yemen and the WB's International Finance Corporation
(IFC) inaugurated a larger phase of cooperation by signing on 23
February 2009 an understanding memo to enhance the cooperation
activities between the public and private sectors in Yemen through
seeking help of the IFC's international experiences to achieve two
strategies of investment environment improvement and investment
promotion in Yemen.

The WB's International Development Association (IDA) has doubled its
aid to support Yemen's developmental process through presenting $ 20
million at the end of last January for constructing schools for
girls in nine governorates, training teachers and improving the
curriculums as well as rewarding workers in the girl education
field.

From Asia, Japanese government has resumed presenting its financial
grants for setting up rural water projects in Yemen as it devoted a
grant of $ 10 million for establishing 20 integral projects in the
rural water field which will serve 20 areas in five governorates of
the country. In addition, Japan deleted $ 37 million from Yemen's
obligation.

For its part, China has declared that it is to lift up the number of
qualifying scholarships and training courses for Yemeni students
from the outset of 2009.

In addition, South Korea took the initiative to allocate the amount
of $ 100 million to add to its $ 45 million pledge made in the
London Conference of Donors held in November 2006 to support Yemen's
development.

In addition to those initiatives of the international donors to
support Yemen, new countries have joined to the donors network of
YEMEN, including Spain which currently presented developmental
support amounted to $20 million, while the Kingdom of Denmark
devoted $ 9.7 million to support the development in the country and
the United States raised its support to Yemen to reach $45 million.