On 15 November the UK Government announced a major scaling-up of its development assistance to Yemen. At the same time I also signalled DFID’s intention to seek a 10-year Development Partnership Agreement with Yemen. This will support and help sustain the Government of Yemen’s commitment to reform and poverty reduction over the long-term. These announcements were made at the Yemen Consultative Group (CG) meeting on 15 and 16 November, hosted by the UK Government at Lancaster House. At this meeting a total of £2.6 billion in future development assistance was pledged from international donors, a significant proportion of which came from the Arab states.

The Consultative Group meeting was attended by the President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Finance and Foreign Ministers from several Gulf states. The meeting was a unique opportunity for the UK to strengthen our relationship and collaboration with Gulf states and major Arab donors. The meeting also followed my visit to Yemen earlier this month and intensive work by DFID and FCO over the past six months. The outcome exceeded our expectations and those of the Government of Yemen. DFID is now working to build on this success and take forward the challenging agenda for poverty reduction and reform set out by the Yemeni Government.

Yemen is a fragile state facing considerable challenges: high poverty levels; decreasing oil revenue; serious water scarcity; high population growth; and weak Government capacity. Yemen is an important partner in the UK’s anti-terrorism efforts, and ensuring stability is important. The Government’s plans for scaling up our assistance to Yemen will see a substantive increase in the UK’s commitment—to £50 million per year by 2010-11. This marks a five-fold increase on current aid levels, and a total allocation of £117 million over the next four years. As DFID scales up, the programme will concentrate upon strengthening governance, increasing economic opportunities for the poor and investing in people, with a priority of education for girls.

Currently DFID is providing support for basic education and maternal health, public financial management, security sector reform and justice reform. DFID will maintain our programmes in these areas. We also intend to work with the Government of Yemen and other donors to expand our involvement in the water sector and broaden our support for secondary and vocational education. Both water and education are crucial areas for Yemen’s long-term development.

To deliver on this agenda DFID is working closely with the Foreign Office and with the Ministry of Defence to link our poverty and development objectives to the achievement of long-term peace and stability for Yemen.