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Saudi Arabia Heads Donors Pledging $4Bn In Aid To Yemen

Saudi Arabia Heads Donors Pledging $4Bn In Aid To Yemen

Saudi Arabia has pledged $3.25bn in aid to Yemen at a Friends of Yemen Meeting held in Riyadh on 23 May. The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud al-Faisal announced his country’s contribution at the donors’ meeting which put together total pledges of $4bn. The meeting, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and Britain, was attended by the Yemeni Prime Minister Muhammad Salim Basindwa, as well as other Gulf and western countries, and regional and international organizations. Prince Saud said the kingdom’s aid will support development projects that would be agreed with the Yemeni side in accordance with the transition plan submitted by the Yemeni government. He went on to say “I assert one more time our support to Yemen to back all the phases of the political initiative to help achieve security, stability and prosperity in facing the threats of extremism and terrorism.” At the meeting Mr Basindwa warned of the deteriorating economic situation in Yemen, coupled with corruption and mismanagement. Political chaos has descended on Yemen in the past year and al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula has taken advantage of the lawlessness in the country to set up a base capable of launching international attacks.

The Riyadh meeting was called after seven international aid agencies warned that Yemen was on the verge of a catastrophic food crisis, and said that half of the country’s population did not have enough to eat. The donor group also discussed political developments in the impoverished state since former president 'Ali 'Abd Allah Salih stepped down after nearly a year of mass protests. After the meeting British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said “the future for Yemen is not about one-off donations. The future for Yemen is about the process that has already been set in train for the transition of that country.” Mr Burt noted that Britain had pledged an additional $44mn on top of the existing aid to Yemen.

According to the Planning and International Cooperation Minister Muhammad al-Sa'idi, Yemen needs an initial $2.17bn to help stabilize the country, fight militant attacks and ease a humanitarian crisis. It also requires a further $5.8bn in the future to develop the economy and national infrastructure, with about $3.7bn needed by 2014. Another donors’ meeting specifically aimed at the aid pledges is to be held in Riyadh in late June, to be followed by a ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September.

New Loans To Yemen

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) on 23 May signed an agreement to lend Yemen SR270mn ($72mn) for the electricity and energy sector, which is suffering from acute shortages. Also, the World Bank is to provide Yemen with a grant of $61mn to finance labor-intensive projects aimed at creating job opportunities and decreasing poverty.

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