This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SANAA 003007 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE - PASS TO MCC. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KDEM YM
SUBJECT: MCC: "CAN WE SIGN DURING SALEH'S VISIT?" 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Ambassador Krajeski met with Deputy Prime 
Minister Ahmed Sofan on October 17, to discuss the November 
visit of President Saleh to Washington.  Sofan said the ROYG 
would like to see Saleh sign the Millennium Challenge 
Threshold agreement during the visit.  The ROYG has eagerly 
pursued this program since 2003, culminating in Yemen's 
acceptance in the threshold program in 2004.  Sofan made 
clear that the ROYG views acceptance of its threshold 
proposal as an indication of America's overall political 
engagement with Yemen.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) If Yemen were to be excluded from MCC, Sofan told 
the Ambassador, it would indicate that the United States was 
disengaging or "giving up" on Yemen.  Ambassador agreed on 
the importance of MCC to U.S.-Yemen bilateral relations and 
explained that MCC is focusing on Yemen's qualifications for 
the program.  MCC will meet again this week and make 
recommendations to the MCC Board. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Sofan was concerned about creating the proper 
outlook for Yemen's development challenges, saying: "We have 
good intentions.  Look at the progress that has been made in 
the last 15 years."  During recent visits, he sought out 
World Bank Institute Vice President Frannie Leautier and 
Transparency International representatives to discover how 
they compile statistics on Yemen.  Learning that such 
information is obtained from local sources such as press, NGO 
reports, and government reports, Sofan theorized that Yemen's 
relative openness compared to the rest of the Middle East is 
negatively influencing economic, political, and developmental 
indicators: "The problem with Yemen is that we are open in an 
area of secrecy." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Sofan hoped that the MCC decision-makers will view 
Yemen's situation in a positive light.  Yemen is trying to 
jump from the 10th to the 21st century, said Sofan, a fact 
not adequately reflected in any indicators. 
Krajeski