Meanwhile, several major agreements to finance mainly infrastructure projects worth about SR2.5 billion in a staggered schedule were signed by the Kingdom during a Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council meeting.
The meeting, which was organized alongside the donors’ conference, was chaired by Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
“The agreements that were signed to support projects in the fields of development, health, education, tourism and social insurance are evidence of the great support given by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and this support comes within the framework of regular consultations between the king and Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh,” said Crown Prince Sultan.
“The conference of the donor countries also confirms the Kingdom’s keen desire to support the process of development in Yemen and our aim to mobilize international help,” he added.
In a joint communiqué, the two sides reaffirmed the GCC stand with regard to discarding all forms of terrorism. On the Iranian nuclear issue, the two sides emphasized the GCC position, while reiterating the legitimate rights of countries to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
In the field of security, Crown Prince Sultan and the Yemeni premier welcomed existing cooperation between the two countries as per the provisions of an MoU signed in 2002.
Referring to discussions at the donors’ conference, Yemen’s Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Mujawar said Sanaa has presented reports outlining how it will use the roughly $44 billion in foreign aid it hopes to receive over the next five years.
He said the Yemeni government also presented five reports at the conference that shed light on identifying third millennium goals during 2011-2015, preparations for the fourth development plan, the investment program for 2011-2015 as well as progress on projects and donors’ coordination.
One of them outlined how Yemen’s government will distribute aid and the other discussed Yemen’s grim long-term socioeconomic picture. The joint session also witnessed the signing of six agreements on Saturday night including an accord to grant SR375 million to set up a social fund, SR281 million for public works, a SR798 million grant for a dual-track road project, a SR400 million loan to finance another road project and a SR17.2 million grant for fighting malaria in Yemen. These are in addition to several other agreements signed by the Kingdom and Yemen for small projects funded by the Saudi government.
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