Yemen's int'l donor countries to meet in New York

A forum dubbed "The Friends of Yemen" to help the impoverished Arab country get rid of extremist groups will be held on Sept. 24 in New York, Yemen's state news agency Saba reported on Thursday.

The governments of Yemen, Britain and Saudi Arabia issued a joint statement to hold a ministerial meeting between Yemen and its donor friends on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said Saba.

At the meeting, donor countries will "review progress that has been achieved since the high-level meeting in London in January, and draw up future aid for Yemen's political, economic and security reforms," Saba said.

The meeting was a follow-up to the 2010 January London conference, in which the "Friends of Yemen" forum was created to support the Yemeni government in fighting the resurgent al-Qaida regional wing on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) after the latter claimed credit for the failed attempt to bomb a U.S.-bound passenger jet in December last year.

According to Saba, the governments of Saudi Arabia, Britain and Yemen will jointly chair the upcoming meeting of the "Friends of Yemen" forum.

The upcoming meeting will also prepare the ground for holding another ministerial meeting in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, in December 2010 or January 2011, according to Saba.

The London conference encouraged donor countries to support the Yemeni government in countering terrorism, and laid out clear-cut strategies to improve political and economic reforms of Yemen, according to Saba.

Source: Xinhua