ABU DHABI, 3 April 2005 — The United Arab Emirates and Yemen signed a security agreement yesterday providing for cooperation in the fight against terror, organized crime and drug trafficking, the UAE’s official WAM news agency reported.
The “memorandum of understanding on security cooperation and coordination” was inked by Emirati Interior Minister Sheikh Saif ibn Zayed Al-Nahayan and his visiting Yemeni counterpart Rashad Al-Alimi.
The pact “puts on paper what we have effectively been doing for many years,” Sheikh Saif said.
The agreement provides for cooperation in combating terrorism, organized crime and forgery of currency, and for mutual security assistance in fighting drug trafficking, WAM said.
Under the pact, police and other security personnel will take part in joint training sessions.
Alimi, whose country has cracked down on suspected sympathizers of the Al-Qaeda network since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, said this was the fourth such agreement Yemen had signed with a member state of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Previous deals were signed with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, he said.
The six-member GCC, which Yemen has been trying to join, also includes Kuwait and Bahrain.
