Almotamar.net, Saba - A high-ranking delegation, led by Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mujawar, came back home on Friday evening following a successful visit to Britain, where it participated in the London Meeting on Yemen, which was held last Wednesday.

During the few-day visit to the British capital London, Mr. Mujawar met British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and delivered him a letter from President Ali Abdullah Saleh over the bilateral relations and joint cooperation fields between the two countries.

Describing the Meeting as successful by all standards, Mujawar said that the London Meeting confirmed the well of the great sympathy of the international community with Yemen in counterterrorism efforts.

“The countries, which took part in the meeting, recognized the nature of the difficult economic problems Yemen faces, including poverty, unemployment and the lack of resources’’, Mujawar added.

‘’There is no doubt that the facts provided by the Yemeni government for the meeting indicated the fact of economic hardships the country suffers. The participants in the meeting confirmed the important need to support the Yemeni government and people in the face of terrorism and provide the necessary aid to overcome development challenges that create a fertile for the growth of extremism, violence and terrorism’’.

He confirmed that he saw clearly the international community’s keenness on security, stability and the unity of Yemen, pointing to the importance of a donors meeting to be held in the Saudi capital Riyadh by the end of February to discuss ways of activating economic and security support to Yemen.

Speaking to Saba, the Yemeni Prime Minister confirmed his government’s commitment to fight
terrorism as well as to accelerate the implementation of the reforms program and activate its national agenda so as to enhance the confidence of the international community and promote stability and development in Yemen.

Mujawar led the Yemeni delegation to the London Meeting on Yemen, which was attended by 20 countries and ended last Wednesday with a mutual agreement between Yemen and its international partners to cooperate in order to address the roots of terrorism.

The London Meeting focused on supporting the Yemeni government to face and root out extremism, starting with its roots and reasons and supporting development, UK's Foreign Minister David Miliband said in a press conference following the Meeting.

‘’I take this opportunity to talk about the goals of the conference and mechanisms for implementing its decisions as the time comes for taking concrete steps to support Yemen, taking into account respecting the country's sovereignty and independence’’, said Miliband.

‘’Britain and Yemen's friends and partners decided in the meeting, that was called by Prime Minister Gordon Brown early this month, to work together on Yemen's problems, with further aid given to Yemen that must be focused on political and economic landscapes’’.

The Meeting addressed Yemen's growing challenges, that if not addressed, risk threatening the stability of the country and broader region. The government of Yemen has identified the following areas which are of most concern and require urgent action.

i) Improved international coordination and support on Yemen.

ii) Work on finding a shared analysis of the challenges facing Yemen, including conditions conducive to radicalisation and instability, and agreement that a comprehensive approach is needed to address them, and ...

iii) The need for greater support and impetus to the political and economic reform agenda, including urgent and concrete action by the government of Yemen, to be adjusted in the light of Yemeni contributions.

The government of Yemen recognises the urgent need to address these issues which will take sustained and focused engagement. It was agreed that responsibility for tackling these challenges lies first and foremost with the Government of Yemen, drawing on the support of the wider region and international community.

The meeting welcomed:

- The declared commitment of the Government of Yemen to continue to pursue its reform agenda, and to initiate discussion of an IMF programme. This will provide welcome support and help the government to confront immediate challenges.

- The announcement by the GCC Secretary General that he will host a meeting of Gulf and other international donors on Yemen in Riyadh on 22-23 February. The meeting will share analysis on the barriers to effective aid in Yemen, leading to a joint dialogue with the government of Yemen, including on priority reforms.

- The commitment by the international community to supporting the Government of Yemen in the fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. As well as the recent U.N. Sanctions Committee decisions to designate AQAP, and the commitment by participants at this meeting to fully enforce the terms of the designation of AQAP and its leadership under the UNSCR 1267 regime.

- The determination of the international community to engage further in support of Yemeni government efforts to build law enforcement, legislative, judicial and security capacities. Yemen's partners agreed to support Yemeni government initiatives to strengthen their counter-terrorist capabilities, and to enhance aviation and border
security. This will include work on both land and maritime borders, including on strengthening the Yemeni Coastguard.

- The launch of a 'Friends of Yemen' process, which will address the broad range of challenges facing Yemen. It will be supported by two working groups on economy and governance, and justice and law enforcement. These should meet in time to report back to the first Friends of Yemen meeting, which should take place in the region in
late March.