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| Arabia | |
| 'Economy Yemen's main challenge' | |
| 2010-12-06 | |
"Stability is linked to development. Stability cannot be achieved without development," Kurbi said on the sidelines of a security conference in Manama, Bahrain, on Sunday. The Yemeni top diplomat's comments come as the United States has raised concerns over what it calls the presence of al-Qaeda members in southern Yemen, claiming that the group is trying to use Yemen as a launch pad for terrorist attacks in America. Kurbi also noted that 30 percent of 23 million population of the country are jobless while the population is constantly on the rise. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... the country's oil exports have declined by 50 percent over the past four years, which has drastically affected the government. The poverty-stricken non-OPEC member produces about 300,000 barrels of oil per day, which accounts for 70 percent of state revenues. Kurbi said his country is in dire need of economic aid and was counting heavily on the international support group Friends of Yemen meeting, scheduled for late February or early March in Riyadh, Soddy Arabia. Earlier in September, the foreign minister had said that only 15 percent of about $5.7 billion of aid pledged at the 2006 London conference has been disbursed. | |
| Posted by:Fred |