Yemen, UK DFID hold official talks

SANA'A, March 18 (Saba) - Ministry of Planning and International
Cooperation and UK's Department for International Development (DFID)
held Wednesday an official talks in Sana'a.

The talks, co-chaired by DFID official for the Middle East, Asia and
the Caribbean Sue Wardle and Minister of Planning and International
Cooperation Abdul Karim al-Arhabi, dealt with a number of issues of
common interest, including the implementation of a Yemeni-UK
ten-year partnership agreement which is the first between Britain
and an Arab country.

The progress of achieving Yemen's the reform agenda in judiciary,
business environment and the civil service sectors as well as
economic challenges face Yemen due to the global financial crisis
and the low prices of oil, were also reviewed in the discussions.

In the presence of the Ministers of Education Abd al-Salam al-Jawfi,
Industry and Trade Yahya al-Mutawakel and Public Health and
Population Abdul Karim Rase'a, the discussions focused on the
ongoing preparations of the 3rd consultation meeting between Yemen
and the donors which is to be held next April.

Al-Arhabi praised the Yemeni-British cooperation relations,
expressing the country's appreciation of the British government's
support provided to the development and reforms in Yemen.

For her part, the British official affirmed her country's keenness
to continue supporting the process of the reforms in Yemen and the
efforts of Yemeni government to combat poverty and to promote
reforms in the judiciary sector.