"The door of investment in Yemen is open to all investors. The state is keen on eliminating any hindrances to investors, learning from the experience of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially Dubai," Saleh said at the opening of a two-day conference on exploring investment opportunities in Yemen.
Some 1,000 investors, half of them from oil-rich Gulf Arab states and the rest from Yemen, attended the gathering organized by the Yemeni government and the general secretariat of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Dubai, one of seven emirates making up the UAE federation, has turned in a few years into a regional business and tourism hub coveted by foreign investors.
The capital Abu Dhabi, which sits on the bulk of the country's oil resources, is also investing petrodollars in industrial and touristic projects.
"We are ready to revise investment laws, including the banking law, taxes, and other (regulations) in light of the observations of investors with a view to eliminating any obstacles to investment," President Saleh said.
The state General Investment Authority will work on providing facilities to investors and simplifying business procedures, President Saleh said.
Lands would be made available to investors at attractive prices provided they start building their projects on them within six months of purchase, he said.
Foreign investors want Yemen to open up its banking and insurance sectors and to introduce a more advantageous tax system.
Yemeni Industry and Commerce Minister Yehia al-Mutawakkel said the government would outline 100 investment opportunities worth an estimated $eight billion in energy, minerals, tourism, infrastructure and other sectors during the conference.
On his part, GCC secretary general Abdurrahman al-Attiyah said the GCC leaders were seeking to assist Yemen's development in order to prepare it to integrate with the Gulf economies.
The GCC states are Yemen's top trading partner and a major destination for Yemeni labour, he said.
Attiyah said the success of last November's international donor conference in London, during which 4.7 billion dollars in aid were pledged for Yemen up to 2010, shows the benefits of cooperation between Sanaa and the GCC, which took part in organising the parley.
The pledges have since gone up to five billion dollars, he added.
In December 2001, Yemen finally won GCC approval to join some of the affiliates of the council -- in the fields of education, social affairs, health and sports.
The GCC is made up of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
Saudi Press Agency 2007
