London to host Friends of Yemen meeting on 29 April 2014
14 Apr 2014 02:41 PM
UK, Saudi Arabia and
Yemen will co-chair meeting to support Yemen through its political
transition.
The governments of the UK, Saudi
Arabia and Yemen will co-chair the next Friends of Yemen meeting in London on
29 April 2014. The Friends of Yemen was established in 2010 to co-ordinate
international support for Yemen and comprises 39 countries and
organisations.
With the conclusion of the
National Dialogue Conference (NDC) earlier this year, Yemen has entered a new
stage in its transition towards a constitutional referendum and elections. This
meeting is expected to endorse the Yemeni proposal for a restructured Friends
of Yemen group which can provide more targeted support in
Yemen.
The meeting will be opened by
the Foreign Secretary William Hague and then be jointly chaired by Minister for
the Middle East Hugh Robertson, International Development Minister Alan Duncan,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Deputy Foreign Minister Dr Prince Turki al Kabeer and
Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr al-Qirbi. Presentations will also be made by the
Gulf Cooperation Council, the UN and the Yemeni Executive Bureau, which matches
donor pledges with projects.
As well as the group’s
restructuring, the priorities for the meeting include assessing progress on the
political, economic and security objectives set at the last Friends of Yemen
meeting in New York in 2013 and to ensure donors work closely with the
Executive Bureau so the money pledged to help support Yemen’s future is
spent effectively.
Further
information
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