SANAA, 6 July 2003 — The Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council (SYCC) began meetings of its 15th round in Sanaa yesterday with the joint cooperation against terrorism topping the agenda.
The meeting is being held under the co-chairmanship of Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, and the Yemeni Premier Abdul Qader Bajammal.
The SYCC was established in 1975 with the aim of boosting bilateral relations in economic, security, cultural and political fields.
In a speech delivered during the opening session of the meetings last night, Prince Sultan highlighted the need to contain dangers of terrorism.
“Further cooperation and coordination of efforts are needed to protect our two countries from the dangers of terrorism,” he said.
Prince Sultan also underlined the need to support the “vital role of the private sector to further deepen the mutual interests of the two countries.”
On his part, Bajammal said Sanaa “realizes that the security of Yemen is entwined with the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” adding that his country “completely condemns all terror acts in our two countries.”
The three-day meeting is considering 16 accords of mutual cooperation — most of them on Yemeni development projects — in addition to agreements on avoiding dual taxation, protecting investors and developing exports.
Among the suggested projects are the setting up a 400 megawatt power station, ameliorating the entire electricity network of Yemen, and building a new highway linking the capital Sanaa with the southern port city of Aden, in addition to a new airport for Sanaa.
The two sides will also discuss means to facilitate the access of agricultural products to each others’ markets, Yemeni officials told Arab News.
Prince Sultan is heading a high-level delegation consisting of 17 ministers and several top officials
The issue of coordinating efforts to fight terrorism will be high on the agenda, especially following the triple suicide bombings in Riyadh on May 12 which left at least 35 people dead.
Unconfirmed media reports have indicated that the explosives used in the Riyadh bombings had been smuggled through the 1,800-km (1,125-mile) border between the two countries.
Last month, the Saudi and Yemeni interior ministers signed in Riyadh an agreement to boost security measures at the border to prevent arms smuggling and infiltration.
Several hundred thousand people cross the border into Saudi Arabia from Yemen every year and large quantities of firearms and explosives are smuggled into the Kingdom as well.
