SANAA, 24 February — Yemen's Interior Minister Hussein Muhammad Arab has stated that a number of military units on the Saudi border would be withdrawn from their present positions next Wednesday. He said the redeployment was planned as per the historic border treaty signed by the two countries on June 12 last year.
The state-run 26 September weekly quoted Arab as saying that Yemen would pull back military units in central and western border areas on Feb. 28, 2001. He expressed satisfaction with the work of the Joint Committee, made up of representatives from the two countries, in implementing the accord.
Under the border agreement signed in Jeddah, the two countries' forces were to pull back 20 kilometers from the borders. The treaty was instrumental in ending a six decade-old border dispute and promoting Saudi-Yemen relations.
A high-level Saudi business delegation led by Ismail Abu Dawood, chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is scheduled to visit Yemen today to strengthen trade and economic cooperation.
The delegation will meet with Yemeni businessmen in the presence of the ministers of supply and trade, and culture and tourism, the Okaz newspaper reported yesterday.
The Saudi team will also meet with Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul Karim Al-Iriyani, the ministers of planning and industry, and chairman of the General Investment Authority in Yemen.
Abu Dawood said a Saudi-Yemeni business council would be set up during the visit. The Saudi delegates will include Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, deputy chairman of chamber council and chairman of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Osama Kurdi, secretary-general of the council.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Fund for Development has committed itself to financing projects valued at $300 million in Yemen in another sign of ever-improving relations between the two neighbors, Yemeni newspapers reported yesterday.
The commitment was made during a visit to Sanaa by SFD official Muhammad Abdullah Al-Shawi, the papers said.
The fund will grant Yemen soft loans to help pay for projects to improve the electricity network, roads and educational training.
According to the papers, the two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on the recycling of Yemen's $200-million debt to Saudi Arabia.
