

Currently released so far... 12648 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
2011/05/01
2011/05/02
2011/05/03
2011/05/04
2011/05/05
2011/05/06
2011/05/07
2011/05/08
2011/05/09
2011/05/10
2011/05/11
2011/05/12
2011/05/13
2011/05/14
2011/05/15
2011/05/16
2011/05/17
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy Niamey
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sapporo
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
AORC
AF
AU
ASEC
AMGT
AS
APER
AR
AG
ARF
AJ
AA
AINF
APECO
AODE
ABLD
AMG
ATPDEA
AE
AEMR
AMED
AGAO
AFIN
AL
ASUP
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
AID
ASCH
AM
AORL
ASEAN
APEC
ADM
AFSI
AFSN
ADCO
ABUD
AN
AY
AIT
AGR
ACOA
ANET
ASIG
AMCHAMS
AGMT
AADP
ADPM
ATRN
ALOW
ACS
APCS
AFFAIRS
ADANA
AECL
ACAO
AORG
AROC
AO
ACABQ
AX
AMEX
AFGHANISTAN
AZ
AND
ARM
AQ
ATFN
AMBASSADOR
ACBAQ
AC
AUC
ASEX
AER
AVERY
AGRICULTURE
AFU
BR
BTIO
BY
BO
BA
BU
BL
BN
BM
BF
BEXP
BK
BG
BB
BTIU
BBSR
BRUSSELS
BD
BIDEN
BE
BH
BILAT
BC
BX
BT
BP
BMGT
BWC
CS
CA
CH
CD
CO
CE
CU
CVIS
CASC
CJAN
CI
CPAS
CMGT
CDG
CIC
CAC
CBW
CWC
COUNTER
CW
CT
CY
CNARC
CACM
CG
CB
CM
CV
CIDA
CLINTON
CHR
COE
CR
CIS
CDC
CONS
CF
CODEL
COPUOS
CIA
CFED
CARSON
CL
CROS
CAPC
CTR
CACS
CN
CBSA
CEUDA
COM
CONDOLEEZZA
CICTE
COUNTRY
CBE
CKGR
CVR
COUNTERTERRORISM
CITEL
CLEARANCE
CARICOM
CSW
CITT
CDB
CJUS
CTM
CAN
CLMT
CBC
EAID
ECON
EFIS
ETRD
EC
ENRG
EINV
EFIN
EAGR
ETTC
ECPS
EINT
ES
EIND
EAIR
EU
EUN
EG
EPET
ELAB
EWWT
EMIN
ECIN
ESA
ER
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
EAIG
ET
ETRO
ELTN
EI
EN
EUR
EK
EUMEM
EPA
ENGR
EXTERNAL
EUREM
ELN
EUC
ENERG
ENIV
EZ
ERD
EFTA
ETRC
ETRN
EINVECONSENVCSJA
EEPET
EUNCH
ESENV
ENNP
ENVI
ETRDECONWTOCS
ECINECONCS
EFINECONCS
ELECTIONS
ENVR
EXIM
ERNG
ECA
EINVEFIN
ETC
EAP
ECONOMY
EINN
ECONOMIC
EXBS
ECUN
ENGY
ECONOMICS
EIAR
EINDETRD
ECONEFIN
EURN
EDU
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ECIP
EFIM
EAIDS
EREL
EINVETC
ECONCS
ETRA
IC
IV
IAEA
IR
IO
IT
IN
IS
IZ
IMO
IPR
IWC
ICAO
ILO
ID
ICTY
ICJ
INMARSAT
INDO
IL
IMF
IRS
IQ
IA
ICRC
IDA
IAHRC
IBRD
ISLAMISTS
IGAD
ILC
ITU
ITF
INRA
INRO
IDP
ICTR
IEFIN
IRC
ITRA
ITALY
INRB
INTELSAT
IBET
IRAQI
ISRAELI
IIP
ITPGOV
ITALIAN
INTERNAL
INTERPOL
IEA
INR
IZPREL
IRAJ
IF
ITPHUM
ISRAEL
IACI
KBTR
KPAO
KOMC
KCRM
KDEM
KHIV
KBIO
KTIA
KMDR
KNNP
KSCA
KTIP
KWMN
KIPR
KCOR
KRVC
KFRD
KPAL
KWBG
KE
KTDB
KUNR
KSPR
KJUS
KGHG
KAWC
KCFE
KGCC
KOLY
KSUM
KACT
KISL
KTFN
KFLU
KSTH
KMPI
KHDP
KS
KHLS
KMRS
KID
KN
KU
KAWK
KSAC
KCOM
KAID
KIRC
KWMNCS
KMCA
KNEI
KCRS
KPKO
KICC
KPOA
KV
KDRG
KIRF
KSEO
KVPR
KSEP
KTER
KBCT
KFIN
KGIC
KCIP
KZ
KG
KWAC
KRAD
KPRP
KTEX
KNAR
KPLS
KPAK
KSTC
KFLO
KSCI
KIDE
KOMS
KHSA
KSAF
KPWR
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KFSC
KRIM
KVRP
KENV
KNSD
KCGC
KDDG
KPRV
KTBT
KWMM
KMFO
KMOC
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KPAI
KO
KVIR
KREC
KX
KR
KCRCM
KBTS
KOCI
KGIT
KNUP
KPAONZ
KNUC
KNNPMNUC
KERG
KTLA
KCSY
KTRD
KNPP
KJUST
KCMR
KRCM
KCFC
KCHG
KREL
KFTFN
KLIG
KDEMAF
KICA
KHUM
KSEC
KPIN
KESS
KDEV
KWWMN
KOM
KWNM
KRFD
KMIG
KRGY
KIFR
MARR
MOPS
MASS
MX
MNUC
MCAP
MO
MR
MEPP
MTCRE
MAPP
MEPN
MZ
MT
ML
MA
MY
MIL
MD
MASSMNUC
MU
MK
MTCR
MUCN
MAS
MEDIA
MAR
MC
MI
MQADHAFI
MPOS
MTRE
MASC
MG
MARAD
MRCRE
MW
MP
MOPPS
MTS
MLS
MILI
MEPI
MEETINGS
MERCOSUR
MCC
MIK
MAPS
MV
MILITARY
MDC
NATO
NZ
NL
NO
NK
NU
NPT
NI
NG
NEW
NSF
NA
NPG
NSG
NE
NSSP
NS
NDP
NSC
NAFTA
NH
NV
NP
NPA
NSFO
NT
NW
NASA
NORAD
NATIONAL
NGO
NR
NIPP
NZUS
NC
NRR
NAR
NATOPREL
OEXC
OTRA
OPRC
OVIP
OAS
OIIP
OSCE
OREP
OPIC
OFDP
OMIG
ODIP
OVP
OSCI
OIC
OECD
OIE
OPDC
ON
OCII
OPAD
OBSP
OFFICIALS
OPCW
OHUM
OES
OCS
OTR
OSAC
OFDA
PGOV
PREL
PM
PHUM
PTER
PINR
PINS
PREF
PARM
PL
PK
PU
PBTS
PBIO
PHSA
PE
PO
PROP
PA
PNAT
POL
PLN
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PCUL
PAK
PGGV
PAO
PSA
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PAS
PGIV
PHUMPREL
PCI
PG
POGOV
PHUMPGOV
PEL
POLITICS
POLICY
PINL
PP
PREO
PAHO
PBT
PMIL
POV
PRL
PDOV
PTBS
PRAM
PREFA
PSI
PAIGH
POSTS
PALESTINIAN
PARMS
PROG
PTERE
PRGOV
PORG
PS
PGOF
PKFK
PSOE
PEPR
PPA
PINT
PMAR
PRELP
PINF
PNG
PFOR
PUNE
PGOVLO
PHUMBA
PSEPC
PNR
POLINT
PGOVE
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PDEM
PECON
PROV
PGOC
PY
PHUH
PF
PHUS
RU
RS
RO
RW
RP
RFE
REGION
REACTION
REPORT
ROOD
RCMP
RM
RSO
ROBERT
RICE
RSP
RF
RIGHTS
RIGHTSPOLMIL
RUPREL
RELATIONS
SENV
SU
SCUL
SOCI
SNAR
SL
SW
SMIG
SP
SY
SA
SHUM
SZ
SYRIA
SF
SR
SO
SARS
SN
SC
SIPRS
SI
SYR
SEVN
SG
SPCE
SK
STEINBERG
SH
SNARCS
SAARC
SCRS
SENVKGHG
SAN
ST
SIPDIS
SNARIZ
SNARN
SSA
SPCVIS
SOFA
SEN
SANC
SWE
SHI
TW
TU
TBIO
TSPL
TPHY
TRGY
TC
TT
TSPA
TINT
TERRORISM
TX
TR
TS
TN
TD
TH
TIP
TNGD
TI
TZ
THPY
TP
TBID
TF
TL
TV
TK
TO
TRSY
TURKEY
TFIN
TAGS
UN
UK
UNSC
UNGA
US
UNESCO
UP
UNHRC
UNAUS
USTR
UNDP
UNEP
UY
UNCHR
UG
UZ
UNPUOS
USEU
UNMIK
UNDC
UNICEF
UV
UNHCR
UNCHC
UNCSD
USOAS
UNFCYP
USUN
USNC
UNIDROIT
UNO
UNCND
USPS
USAID
UE
UNVIE
UAE
UNODC
UNCHS
UNFICYP
UNDESCO
UNC
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 09SANAA1692, DAS SANDERSON HEARS OF PROMISING ECONOMIC AND
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09SANAA1692.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
09SANAA1692 | 2009-09-22 07:15 | 2011-04-08 05:00 | SECRET//NOFORN | Embassy Sanaa |
VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHYN #1692/01 2650715
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
R 220715Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2791
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0262
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 1674
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
S E C R E T SANAA 001692
NOFORN
SIPDIS
NEA/ARP AMACDONALD AND INR SMOFFAT
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/19/2019
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV PREL SENV YM
SUBJECT: DAS SANDERSON HEARS OF PROMISING ECONOMIC AND
WATER REFORM PROPOSALS THAT NEED PRESIDENTIAL PUSH
REF: SANAA 1549
Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
¶1. (C) SUMMARY. In a September 15-16 visit to Yemen, Deputy
Assistant Secretary (DAS) Ambassador Janet Sanderson met with
ROYG officials, advisors, and European diplomats to discuss
some of Yemen’s most pressing social and economic challenges.
Foreign Minister Abubakir al-Qirbi pressed for a "strategic
dialogue" between the United States and Yemen in order to
ensure that the relationship is not dominated by security and
counter-terrorism issues. Economic advisors presented an
ambitious plan for achieving their top 10 priorities for
economic reform. Environment and Water Minister Adulrahman
al-Eryani urged that Yemen’s water crisis, increasingly a
driver of conflict and instability, be a major issue on the
bilateral agenda, and he asked for political, rather than
financial, support to put it there. European Ambassadors
grappled with how to press Saleh for political and economic
reforms, recommending high-level U.S. engagement with Saudi
Arabia, and advising U.S. officials to be blunt and "brutally
honest" in their conversations with President Saleh. With
respect to economic development and addressing the water
crisis, Yemeni advisors and officials have formulated
thoughtful and realistic reform proposals that will require
political -- specifically presidential -) will in order to
have any hope of being implemented. END SUMMARY.
DREAMING OF A "NEW CHAPTER" IN US-YEMENI RELATIONS
--------------------------------------------- -----
¶2. (S/NF) Foreign Minister Abubakir al-Qirbi told Ambassador
Sanderson in their September 15 meeting that Saleh’s primary
goal for his upcoming visit to Washington is to "start a new
chapter in Yemeni-US relations." (Note: The visit has since
been postponed and remains to be re-scheduled. End Note.)
According to Qirbi, over the past eight years, the
relationship has been "overshadowed by terrorism and
counter-terrorism," but a new chapter can begin with the
launching of a "strategic dialogue." Although the structure
and function of this proposed "strategic dialogue" remain
murky, Qirbi described it as a "mechanism to do regular
consultations on all issues" on the bilateral agenda, in
order to ensure that dialogue between the two countries is
continuous and forward-looking rather than reactive and
crisis-driven. In his parting words, Qirbi urged Ambassador
Sanderson to help make Saleh’s visit to Washington "a
landmark visit for better relations."
TOP TEN ECONOMIC PRIORITIES
---------------------------
¶3. (SBU) DAS Sanderson met with the group of
Western-educated ROYG officials behind the new Top 10
Economic Priorities (reftel). Deputy Finance Minister Jalal
Yaqoub described civil-service reform, particularly a new
program to attract 100 Yemeni expatriates to senior
government positions, as the key that would unlock the other
priorities on the list, including attracting new oil
companies, gradually lifting diesel subsidies, and sending
unskilled Yemeni laborers to GCC markets. DAS Sanderson
urged the group to view presidential engagement not as one
among a list of priorities, but an essential prerequisite for
the implementation of each item.
WATER SHORTAGE THREATENS STABILITY
----------------------------------
¶4. (S/NF) In their September 16 meeting, Dr. Abdulrahman
al-Eryani, Minister of Environment and Water, expounded upon
Yemen’s "insidious" water crisis and ways to ameliorate it.
Eryani described Yemen’s water shortage as the "biggest
threat to social stability in the near future." He noted
that 70 percent of unofficial roadblocks stood up by angry
citizens are due to water shortages, which are increasingly a
cause of violent conflict. He reported that small riots take
place nearly every day in neighborhoods in the Old City of
Sana’a because of lack of water, and he predicted that the
capital could run out of water as soon as next year.
According to Eryani, one of the major causes of Yemen’s
dwindling water supply is the lack of water governance.
Hundreds of privately owned, unregulated rigs are used to
drill private wells deep into the earth in search of water.
The owners of these drills are "running wild, drilling holes
everywhere. We need to control these private rigs." A major
obstacle to doing so is that fact that the rig owners are
powerful individuals )- army officers, sheikhs, members of
the president’s family, and certain government ministers -)
who are "untouchable" by the law. Another major cause is
agriculture. Up to 85 percent of water is used for
agriculture, and half of that is for growing the narcotic
drug qat.
¶5. (S/NF) Eryani said that one "very easy way to make water
use more efficient" is to lift diesel subsidies. Cheap
diesel is leading to the water crisis because, on the one
hand, "many farms would no longer be sustainable if their
owners were paying the right price for diesel," and on the
other, it fuels the private rigs that are running rampant
across the country. Eryani also recommended greater water
conservation and even water harvesting at the household
level. He urged that water become part of the bilateral
agenda. In his opinion, the greatest support the US
government can provide is "political, not financial," in
order to elevate the water issue on the political agenda in
Yemen and in its relations with donors.
EUROPEAN AMBASSADORS: GET SAUDI TO BACK REFORM
--------------------------------------------- -
¶6. (S/NF) In a September 16 lunch with European Ambassadors,
much of the discussion focused on what levers of influence
could push the Saleh regime to reform. First and foremost,
they said, is Saudi Arabia, which plays a critical role in
Yemen due to the considerable financial support it provides
to both the Saleh regime and hundreds of Yemeni sheikhs on
its payroll. (Note: It was noted that KSA reportedly has
given the ROYG $300 million in recent months, to prosecute
its war against the Houthis and attend to other pressing
needs. End Note.) The participants agreed that even if KSA
could be convinced to demand more reform from Saleh in return
for its support, if unnerved by instability in Yemen, KSA
would likely break ranks and infuse Yemen with cash, without
reform strings attached. The Ambassadors agreed that
threatening to cut off development aid is not an effective
lever for demanding political reform. According to the
German Ambassador, "Saleh doesn’t care if we give $80 million
or $200 million in development aid. What he wants is
political support against the Houthis and the Southern
Movement."
¶7. (S/NF) The Ambassadors cautioned that Saleh will try to
use his meeting with Obama - whenever it might occur - as an
endorsement of the war against the Houthis and other
policies. In order to gain some reforms from Saleh, the
British Ambassador advised, "The brusker, the blunter, the
better. Saleh doesn’t understand anything if it’s framed
diplomatically." The British Ambassador suggested getting
Saleh out of his comfort zone by discussing imperative
economic reforms, as his capacity to argue against them is
much weaker. With respect to Qirbi’s proposed strategic
dialogue, the Ambassadors thought that it could be beneficial
in two ways. First, it could help correct course, so that
the entire US-Yemeni relationship does not get thrown
off-course by incidents that inflame public sentiment and get
embroiled in domestic politics. Second, it could provide a
framework for ramping up aid over time provided that certain
conditions are met along the way.
NEW BILATERAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT
----------------------------------
¶8. (U) Ambassador Sanderson attended a signing ceremony at
the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation
marking a bilateral assistance agreement to fund essential
development projects in the fields of health, education,
democracy and governance, agriculture, and economic
development. The agreement will provide over $30 million in
FY2009 in the first tranche of incremental funding for the
three years agreement. USAID has already put out a tender to
fund one of the ROYG’s Top 10 Economic Priorities, a program
to attract the "top 100 talent" into the civil service, and
is looking for ways to support other elements of the
initiative.
COMMENT
-------
¶9. (S/NF) Ambassador Sanderson’s interlocutors were pleased
that she chose Yemen for her first visit to the Maghreb and
Gulf region. They were also pleased that she focused on
economic development and the water crisis, fundamental reform
issues that are often overshadowed by seemingly more urgent
security concerns. On both fronts, Yemeni advisors and
officials have formulated thoughtful and realistic reform
proposals. Their successful implementation requires
political -- specifically presidential -- will. To date,
President Saleh has not demonstrated significant interest in
these two issues, but the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and European
donors should continue to pressure him to tackle them before
the situation deteriorates further. END COMMENT.
SECHE