VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHYN #0318 0481429
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 171429Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3829
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000318 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ARP FOR ANDREW MACDONALD 
USAID FOR CHRIS KISCO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2020 
TAGS: AID EAGR EAID ECON EFIN ETRD GCC PREL PGOV
PTER, YM 
SUBJECT: ROYG, WESTERN DONORS CONCERNED ABOUT RIYADH MEETING 
 
REF: SANAA 131 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY.  Senior ROYG officials have expressed 
concern about the organization and likely outcomes of 
upcoming GCC-sponsored meeting in Riyadh.  In a February 15 
meeting with donors, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic 
Affairs and Minister of Planning and International 
Cooperation Abdulkareem al-Arhabi expressly cited the need to 
focus on bottlenecks to GCC-sponsored aid delivery.  In a 
separate meeting on February 16, Deputy Foreign Minister 
Mohyadeen al-Dhabbi said that he feared the Riyadh meeting 
would serve as a 'talk shop' for Gulf countries with no 
concrete results.  Donors are also concerned about the lack 
of information about the expected agenda and level of 
representation for this GCC-sponsored meeting.  Western 
donors hope that the meeting will secure tangible aid 
commitments from the GCC, breaking the tendency of Yemen's 
neighbors to eschew coordination of their "assistance" 
programs with other partner nations.  If successful, the 
Riyadh meeting could serve as a turning point for the flow of 
regional development aid toward Yemen.  END SUMMARY. 
 
SENIOR ROYG OFFICIALS APPREHENSIVE ABOUT RIYADH 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2.  (C) With the post-London meeting in Riyadh on February 
27-28 around the corner, senior ROYG officials are 
approaching the meeting apprehensively.  In a meeting with 
donors, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and 
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, 
Abdulkareem al-Arhabi, indicated that the challenge of Riyadh 
would be to accomplish what the two hour London meeting did 
not, i.e. produce tangible results, and expressly cited the 
need to focus on bottlenecks to GCC-sponsored aid delivery. 
Arhabi was also concerned that GCC member states would be 
unwilling to discuss certain issues in an open forum at the 
Riyadh conference, and cited the issue of absorbing Yemeni 
laborers into GCC markets ) an issue Sana'a is expected to 
raise ) as a particularly sensitive topic for the GCC. 
 
¶3.  (C) In a separate meeting on February 16, Deputy Foreign 
Minister Mohyadeen al-Dhabbi said that he feared the Riyadh 
meeting would serve as a 'talk shop' for Gulf countries, 
without coming to any concrete conclusions.  He did not 
harbor high expectations for the meeting's outcome unless 
real decision-makers and people who hold the purse strings, 
such as Ministers of Finance, were present.  Without 
appropriate levels of representation at the Riyadh meeting, 
Dhabbi said it would be a waste of time and a disappointment 
for Yemenis, who are keen to see tangible evidence that the 
international community is ready to invest in their future. 
 
DONORS CONCERNED BY LACK OF AGENDA, LEVEL OF REPRESENTATION 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) With the Riyadh meeting just around the corner, 
donors who gathered at the Feb 15 meeting expressed concern 
about the lack of information about the GCC-sponsored 
meeting.  The UN Resident Coordinator, Pratibha Mehta, 
expressed dismay that the Ministry of Planning and 
International Cooperation (MOPIC)-drafted schedule focused on 
ROYG and Western donor country presentations, leaving out any 
contribution from GCC member states.  Similarly, the GCC 
Secretariat General's schedule focused on Western donor and 
ROYG-led presentations without turning the spotlight on the 
role of its member states. 
 
¶5.  (C) COMMENT.  While the Friends of Yemen process offers 
hope as a new forum for a concerted international 
stabilization effort, the ROYG as well as Western and Gulf 
donors now face the challenge of keeping the momentum going 
after London.  GCC donors will be additionally challenged to 
break their tendency towards "assistance" programs that are 
anything but transparent, and to make commitments to Yemen 
that they are prepared to follow through on in conjunction 
with the Western donor community.  If the Riyadh meeting 
produces even a modest step in this direction, it could serve 
as a turning point for a sustained flow of regional 
development aid toward Yemen.  END COMMENT. 
SECHE