Almotamar.net - Wrapping up her visit to Yemen Wednesday the Chair of the United Nations Development Group and UNDP Administrator Helen Clark welcomed the increased international interest being shown in supporting Yemen to tackle the challenges it faces, and expressed her hope that it will be translated into increased support for Yemen’s development.
“Yemen is confronting a range of concurrent challenges which need urgent attention,” she said. “With international support and with commitment in Yemen to drive a reform agenda, a step change in development is possible.”
Helen Clark met with President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the day before yesterday, to discuss how the UN development system can play its part in supporting Yemen to overcome its development challenges and make progress on the MDGs. At that meeting, she noted the importance of broad participation in the upcoming elections so that, like the 2006 elections, they are widely agreed to be credible. She added that continued political dialogue is needed to achieve that outcome. She underscored UNDP’s technical support to the national commission responsible for overseeing the conduct of those elections.
In addition to meeting the President, Helen Clark met with the Prime Minister, the two Deputy Prime Ministers, and other ministers and officials, and the Supreme Commission on Elections and Referenda. She also met with donors, the UN country team, women from many walks of life, and civil society organizations.
With respect to tensions in the north and the south of the country, as well as general security issues, Helen Clark said that UNDP’s approach focuses on addressing the underlying drivers of tension and conflict, which include underdevelopment, and on promoting community based dialogue and conflict resolution.
While in Yemen, Helen Clark traveled to the island of Socotra, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site because of its rich biodiversity. She presented the Equator Prize to the community initiative in the Rosh Marine Protected Area for its work in combining biodiversity conservation with lifting community living standards.
Helen Clark also traveled to Tula’s to visit a health centre where the World Food Programme and UNICEF are working to improve nutrition for pregnant and lactating women and for children. The UN Country Team as a whole has agreed to develop a joint programme on Food Security and nutrition.
At Wadi Dahr, Helen Clark visited a demining training programme, supported by UNDP, which is regarded as a centre of excellence and has provided training in a number of other countries. Yemen has successfully demined in many governorates, but there are still significant areas to be cleared where mines continue to kill and maim local people and inhibit recovery from conflict.
The United Arab Emirates acknowledged on Tuesday that two of its pilots were killed when their military aggression plane crashed over Jawf province, a military official said
The official added that the aggressive crashed plane was an apache that was
Artillery of the army and popular shelled a gathering of Saudi-paid mercenaries in al-Moqadra area in Serwah district of Marib province, a military official said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, dozens of Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed and others injured in Wadi al-Theek in the district, the official added.
The army and popular forces carried out on Monday unique military operations in Taiz province.
A military official said that a number of Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed at the hands of the army and popular forces in al-Jazami Hill in al-Kadaha area in al-Ma'afer district.
A Saudi aggression fighter jet targeted a citizen's car driving in Fara area of Kutaf district in Saada province overnight, killing the driver and injuring his friend, a security official said on Monday.
The army artillery and popular committees launched a fierce attack on Saudi-paid mercenaries' sites in Jawf province, a military official said on Monday.
The attack destroyed a military vehicle belonging to the mercenaries and killed all on board in Sabran area in khab and shaaf district.
Scores of Saudi enemy soldiers were killed and injured on Sunday when the army and popular forces repelled a Saudi military attempt to sneak into Shurfah site in the border province of Najran, a military official said.
The operation was accomplished successfully against the Saudi
The army and popular committees have killed a total of 18 Saudi-paid mercenaries in sniper operations over the past hours in the central province of Marib, a military official said on Sunday.
Ten mercenaries were killed in Nehm district and eight others were killed in Serwah district, said the official.
Saudi aggression warplanes have launched more than 49 airstrikes over the past hours on several residential areas across Yemen, a security official said on Sunday.
The airstrikes targeted the areas of Malahiz and Husama in Dhahir district, and areas Thuban, Masahif and Sdad in Bakim district of northern Saada province.
UN Development Chief calls for increased support to Yemen to face challenges
