RIYADH, 14 November 2007 — Saudi Arabia yesterday signed 15 agreements worth $242 million to establish educational, technical, vocational, health and infrastructure projects in Yemen and promote cooperation in fisheries, geology, higher education and aviation.
The projects to be financed are a central hospital in Hadeeda, a college of medicine and health sciences at Taaz University, a university hospital and cancer center at Hadramout University, a gas power station in Maareb, a technical institute and vocational center and the renovation of Aden General Hospital.
The agreements were signed during a meeting of the Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council, which was co-chaired by Crown Prince Sultan and Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Mujawwar.
Addressing the meeting, Prince Sultan highlighted the growing relations between the two Muslim neighbors. “Our relations are based on the strong foundations of unity in faith, neighborhood and fraternal bonds,” he said.
The crown prince also expressed his satisfaction over the expanding cooperation between the two countries in various fields. “Saudi Arabia’s support to Yemen is not limited to development projects. We support you at regional and international forums for the benefit of Yemeni people.”
Prince Sultan urged executive authorities in both countries to implement the new accords as quickly as possible. He emphasized the importance of security cooperation between the two neighbors and praised Sanaa on its successful efforts to combat terrorism. “The challenges facing the Arab and Islamic world, especially the situations in Palestine and Iraq, demand doubling of efforts to promote unity,” the prince said. He also called for the restoration of Palestinian rights.
Yemeni Premier Mujawwar expressed his optimism that the current session of the council would bring about qualitative improvement in bilateral ties. He noted Saudi Arabia’s pioneering role at the donors’ conference in London. “The conference was a big success by all standards,” he said and highlighted Yemen’s economic and political reforms.
He noted the participation of Saudi businessmen in large numbers in the investment conference held in Yemen last April. “We hope that the economic, commercial and investment cooperation between the two countries will grow further in the coming years,” the premier said.
Mujawwar said his country was making vigorous efforts to become a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council by developing its infrastructure. “We want to become a deserving candidate for GCC membership by improving infrastructure, health and education. We feel happy to learn that we are moving in the right direction,” he said. He sought the Kingdom’s financial and technical support to facilitate Yemen’s integration into GCC economies.
