Yemeni PM meets UN secretary-general representative for food security

Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindwa met here on Thursday David Nabarro, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Food Security and Nutrition. Nabarro conveyed to the PM the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's appreciation of the Yemeni government's efforts in the critical stage Yemen is experiencing, stressing that Ki-moon is watching personally and with great interest the situation in Yemen and the level of progress of the political process via the national dialogue. The UN Secretary-General has great confidence that Yemen is able to make significant progress despite all difficulties, Nabarro said. He indicated to the UN team, which is working very hard in Yemen to support the government's efforts and contribute to addressing the problems faced by the Yemeni people, especially in the areas of health, education, food security and water shortages, underlining the UN's keenness to enhance the level of support to Yemen. The UN official expressed great appreciation of the Prime Minister and his government's cooperation to facilitate the UN working group's activities, praising the efforts made by the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation to convey a realistic picture to the international community about the needs of the underway transitional stage in Yemen. The Premier hailed the great efforts made by the UN in support of Yemen at all political, developmental and humanitarian levels, valuing highly the UN Secretary-General's personal follow-up to the developments on Yemen. Yemen will handle the ongoing situation positively in cooperation with the brotherly and friendly countries and the international community, Basindwa said. He also praised the active role and the great efforts made by the UN Special Envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar, pointing to the difficulties and obstacles that stand in the way of the country's security and stability as well as the government's efforts overcome them, combat corruption and achieve the desired economic growth. During the meeting, Basindwa and Nabarro discussed aspects of existing and future cooperation between Yemen and the UN, especially in food security area.