Yemen 'promises reform' ahead of London terror meeting

Yemen's government has promised urgent political and economic reform to help fight al-Qaeda, in a statement drawn up ahead of international talks.

Gordon Brown called the London meeting to galvanise support for the Gulf state after the alleged bid to blow up a US airliner on 25 December 2009. Al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen claimed responsibility amid fears the country is becoming a haven for terrorists. The statement says Yemen's stability is at risk, Reuters news agency reports. It reports the draft statement as saying: "The challenges in Yemen are growing and, if not addressed, risk threatening the stability of the country and broader region. "The government of Yemen recognises the urgent need to address these issues, which will take sustained and focused engagement."

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the alleged bomb plot, is said to have told investigators that he was supplied with explosives in Yemen. The London conference aims to find ways to address the long-term ills that have fed extremism within Yemen's borders. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other world leaders are to discuss how to stabilise the poverty-stricken nation. Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Mujawar is also attending the talks, chaired by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, which involve representatives of the European Union, United Nations, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Yemen has indicated it will pursue talks with the IMF as part of its reform programme. Security correspondent said the state's problems were both complex and profound. "The poorest Arab country, its population is ballooning, oil revenues are dwindling, the water tables are sinking and its fighting a bloody insurgency that has already embroiled the Saudi army on its northern border," he said. "Into that unhappy mix comes a resurgent al-Qaeda that has chosen Yemen for its new base in the Middle East, and is now threatening to use it as a springboard to attack the West and its allies."

'No US bases'

Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis said the meeting was important because Yemen was "not a failed state, but it is an incredibly fragile state".

He added: "We want to see Yemen's neighbours make a more significant contribution and we want the international community to come together and recognise that supporting the government of Yemen is crucial to the stability of that country but it is also crucial to the stability of the world." Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said that his country wanted "international support to build infrastructure, combat poverty and create jobs, as well as support in combating terrorism".

But he told that the idea of US military bases on Yemeni soil was "inconceivable". Arab League secretary general Amre Moussa told he questioned how effective the meeting could be. "I don't know how a conference like that can decide something useful, something reasonable for Yemen... in a couple of hours," he said. He added it was "strange" and a "very dangerous sign" that his organisation had not been invited to the talks. Mr Moussa said the Arab League was concerned not solely about al-Qaeda but about Yemen's problems as a whole and that community reconciliation was required.