Yemen needs $11 bn, donors to meet next week

Yemen said Wednesday it needs $11 billion in foreign aid, as the impoverished nation struggling to rebuild its economy and complete a tough political transition, prepares for an international donors' meeting next week. "Our needs are $14 billion. The Yemeni government can cover some part, but there remains a gap of $11 billion," said Planning and International Cooperation Minister, Mohammed al-Saadi, in Sanaa, just days ahead of the September 4 donors meeting to be held in Riyadh. The conference will address several issues, including reconstruction, humanitarian needs and ways to strengthen security and stability in Yemen, he told reporters. It will also address political dialogue, preparations for general polls, and basic infrastructure needs, Saadi said. "There are countries that will announce pledges in Riyadh. Those who cannot, will make their pledges in New York," at the Friends of Yemen meeting next month, he said. Yemen is undergoing a political transition after a year-long uprising unseated veteran leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and left the economy of the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country in shambles. In May, wealthy Saudi Arabia pledged $4 billion (3.2 billion euros) in aid for Yemen during the Friends of Yemen meeting held in Riyadh. Saadi had previously told AFP his country needs about $10 billion in urgent aid. So far only 43 percent of $455 million earlier asked for by the UN and other organisations has been received for humanitarian aid for Yemen. The Friends of Yemen forum was set up at an international conference in London in January 2010 to help Sanaa combat a resurgent threat from Al-Qaeda in the ancestral homeland of its slain leader, Osama bin Laden, as well as other security challenges. The IMF says the 2011 political crisis has taken a serious toll on the economy, which it said contracted by 10.5 percent, while inflation soared to 17.6 percent. Aid agencies say nearly half of Yemen's 10-million population do not get enough food to eat, and one in three children is severely malnourished.