Gulf States support Yemen unity, stability, development

RIYADH, June 09 (Saba) - Foreign Ministers of Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC)'s states have confirmed their countries' support to
Yemen's unity, security and stability as well as its developmental
projects.

In the final statement of the 4th joint meeting of the Foreign
Ministers of the GCC and Yemen which held Monday in the Saudi
capital Riyadh, they confirmed the importance of boosting
coordination and consultation between the GCC and Yemen and
reviewing the progress which has been achieved in all cooperation
fields between the two sides.

"The GCC's states support the Yemeni unity and its government's
efforts which aim at dialogue so as to ensure Yemen's stability and
its territories unity", the statement highlighted.

The statement made it clear that Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi
had briefed the participants in the meeting on a number of proposals
related to enhancing the cooperation between the two sides.

The Ministers listened to a report of the GCC's General Secretary on
the obtained progress in the cooperation fields between the GCC and
Yemen, especially in the developmental field.

The report indicated that the total volume of the current pledges of
the GCC's states and the territorial funds was about $3.5 billion
devoted for projects of the period from 2007 to 2010 and about 90
percent of the total pledges, which equals about $ 3.2 billion, was
allocated so far and distributed on 50 developmental projects which
have been approved by the two sides.

It pointed out that the two sides have signed financing agreements
exceeding $ 1.5 billion to finance projects of electrical power
production, roads, seaports, airports, hospitals rehabilitation and
construction, vocational education and training, Social Fund for
Development (SFD), Public Works Program and others.

The Ministers expressed their stratification for the progress in the
cooperation areas between the two sides, particularly the GCC's
decision at Muscat's Gulf summit in December 2008 which joined Yemen
to four organizations of the GCC, including the GCC Standardization
Organization, Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, the GCC's
Accounting and Auditing Organization and Gulf Television.

In addition, Yemen is a member in the Gulf Arab Bureau of Education,
the GCC's Health Ministers Council, Council of Ministers of Labor
and Social Affairs of the GCC's and Gulf Football Championship.

The Gulf Ministers hailed Yemen's steps to execute the reforms
aiming at promoting competency of Yemen's economy, improving
investment environment and achieving objectives of the economic and
social development which would contribute to integrating its economy
within the Gulf states' economies.

They also praised the obtained progress in carrying out the
investment program of the third development plan and the projects
funded by the GCC's states and regional funds.

The statement unveiled the GCC Foreign Ministers directed the joint
technical committee to take the necessary actions in this regard as
to follow:

- To speed up the projects implementation according to the
timetables, reporting any obstacles hindering the implementation and
pinpointing the developmental requirements of Yemen for the fourth
developmental plan for 2011-2015 so as to achieve a comprehensive
development in Yemen and integrate Yemen in the economies of GCC's
states.

- Giving priority to the programs of qualifying the Yemeni
workforces.

- Studying Yemen's workforces' participation in the GCC's labor
market by the GCC's Ministers of Labor and Social Affairs and
reporting the results to the council.

- Providing the technical and financial support to the GCC-funded
Projects Unit established in Yemen's Ministry of Planning and
International cooperation.

- Making mechanisms for encouraging the private sector in the GCC's
states to invest in Yemen and urging the Gulf and Yemeni commercial
chambers to enhance the partnership of businessmen in the two sides.

The GCC's Foreign Ministers welcomed an invitation offered by
Yemen's Foreign Minister al-Qirbi to hold their coming joint meeting
in Yemen during the first quarter of 2010.

The joint meeting discussed a proposal of Saudi King Abdullah bin
Abdul Aziz to give priority to the Yemeni skilled labors in the Gulf
labor markets which was adopted by the last Gulf summit held in
Riyadh last May.

Moreover, the meeting reviewed means of strengthening the
partnership between Yemen and the GCC, joining Yemen to new Gulf
organizations and qualifying Yemen's economy through supporting its
development process and executing the current projects within the
financial pledges of the GCC's states announced in the London Donors
Conference held in November 2006.

It also dealt with issues of coordination and consultation between
the two sides in the political, economic and security fields in
light of the current developments in the region.

In his speech to the meeting, the Yemeni Minister affirmed Yemen's
keenness on coordination and cooperation with the GCC's states so as
to serve Yemen and the GCC's common interests, security and
stability. Minister al-Qirbi called for opening an office for the
GCC's General Secretariat in the capital Sana'a to follow up
executing the joint programs and coordinate between the two sides.

Al-Qirbi voiced Yemen's thanks to the leaders of the GCC for the
developmental support presented to Yemen in the different fields.

He also thanked the GCC's states for allocating 80 percent of their
pledges presented during the London conference.

The Yemeni official highly valued the supportive positions of the
GCC's states to Yemen's unity "which is not an important factor of
security and stability in Yemen only, but in the whole region.

BA/YA