The economic working group emanating from the 7th meeting of the Yemen Friends Group held in London on April 29, held on Monday its first meeting in Sana’a.
The meeting, which was held at the headquarters of the Executive Bureau for Accelerating Absorption of Donors’ Pledges, was co-chaired by the Yemeni government represented by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Dr. Mohammed al-Sa’adi and the World Bank’s Country Manager for Yemen ,Wael Zakout, as a representative of the donor community.
The terms of reference of the economic group, its membership, priorities of economic reforms and the aspects of support required from the international community were reviewed in the meeting.
The group stressed the importance of supporting Yemen economically during the time being in order to enhance the progress of the transition process.
In the meeting, Dr. al-Sa’adi underlined the important role of the donors in triggering the economy and development wheel and supporting the implementation of the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) outcomes.
In turn, Zakout confirmed the willingness of the donor community through the economic group to support the national reforms and trigger resources and pledges.
He reaffirmed that the international community would play an important role in supporting the transitional stage and the implementation of the NDC’s outcomes.
The group is expected to hold its second meeting by the end of June to discuss and approve its plan of action, which will include priorities of economic reforms and the required support from the international community.
In their 7th meeting in London, the Friends of Yemen agreed to revise the structure of the Friends of Yemen Group in order to enhance its work and fully support Yemen as it undertakes the political transition and associated reform processes.
The underlying principles of this new structure are Yemeni ownership and support for the GCC Initiative and Implementation Mechanism in three main areas: the political transition, economic reform and development, and security and justice sector reform.
The Friends of Yemen agreed to establish a Steering Committee and Working Groups in each of the three areas. The Groups will report back to the Steering Committee which will report to the annual Friends of Yemen meetings to be held at Foreign Minister Level in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York each September.
BA
Saba