Yemen attaches great importance to its relations with the EU. Yemen's relationship with the EU is a bi dimensional relationship which has both political and economic development aspects. The political aspect of the relationship between the EU and Yemen have been improving recently, especially after the resolution of the dispute between Yemen and Eritrea over the Hanish islands in the Red Sea. Yemen's closest political ally in the EU is France (and also its biggest EU trade partner). The two countries strengthened their relationship after President Saleh's visit to the country in 1995. At the same time Yemen's relationship and security co-operation with Britain has been improving subsequent to a temporary lull after the kidnapping of Western tourists in Yemen in 1998 and also the attack on the British embassy in Yemen on October 2000.
The economic aspect of the relationship between Yemen and the EU were strengthened after the opening of the European Commission delegation in Sana'a. The office which opened in January 2004 supports development co-operation activities and implementation of the National Indicative Programme for Yemen. This programme focuses on a number of areas such as economic co-operation and development; food security support; support to NGO projects; rehabilitation; and humanitarian aid. However the bulk of the National Indicative Programme for Yemen concentrates on food production and reduction of poverty and hunger in the country.
According to EU sources, Yemen is beneficiary of the Everything but Arms (EBA) initiative under the General System of Preference (GSP). This agreement allows the duty-free access of all products, except arms, coming from the group of 49 Least Developed Countries. Figures for the year 2002 indicate that EU exports to Yemen in 2002 were= € 803 million = 21.2 % of Yemeni imports; Yemen exports to EU were € 102 million = 2.8 % of all Yemeni exports. The EU's main categories of imports from Yemen are crude materials and mineral fuels, food and live animals. Main categories of exports are machinery and transport equipment, food, live animals and chemicals.
Yemen is also the recipient of foreign aid from Germany (USD $3.74 million), the United Kingdom (USD $3.74 million), and the Netherlands (USD $2.24 million). By: Meir Javedanfar- www.meepas.com Back |
