Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and Lord Evans of Rainow

Wednesday 17th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan]

DFID’s programme is part of the UK strategy to address instability and conflict in Yemen and to develop the economy. We engage with the Government and other donors to create the political will needed for action on reforms. Our work helps to make people’s lives better by delivering basic services such as health, education and justice to the poorest communities, and to provide jobs and short-term employment through cash-for-work schemes. We also provide life-saving humanitarian support for the 300,000 displaced people in Yemen.

[Graham Evans]

At the last International Development questions, I raised the importance of Yemen in the war on terror, which the subsequent ink cartridge plot underlined. The Gulf states are obviously key to addressing Yemen’s challenges. What are the Government doing to engage with those states?

[Mr Duncan]

The security situation is obviously of the utmost importance. The most important Gulf partner is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which co-chairs the Friends of Yemen process, but more than $3 billion-worth of pledged financial support has remained unused since 2006. We are therefore pressing for better donor co-ordination, in which the Gulf states are obviously crucial partners.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alan Duncan and Lord Evans of Rainow

Wednesday 13th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

9. What recent assessment he made of the effectiveness of projects funded by his Department in Yemen.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Mr Alan Duncan)]

I saw for myself—[Interruption.]

[Mr Duncan]

I saw for myself the challenges faced in Yemen and the impact of DFID’s programmes when I visited in July. I was also encouraged by the outcomes of the recent Friends of Yemen meeting in New York chaired by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary.

[Graham Evans]

Given the strategic importance of Yemen in the fight against terrorism, can my right hon. Friend give me an update on his conversations with his counterparts in other nations to support Yemen?

[Mr Duncan]

The Friends of Yemen process to which I referred, chaired jointly by my right hon. Friend and by the Saudis and the Yemenis, took some important steps in confirming that they would implement an International Monetary Fund programme. There is, however, a deteriorating security situation and it is essential that we do our utmost to make sure that Yemen does not become a failed state.