Barran Press
The internationally recognized Yemeni government on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, discussed a "vision for recovery and reconstruction of Yemen" with the United Nations. The war-torn country has been embroiled in a devastating conflict for a decade, leaving its infrastructure and economy in ruins.
The meeting, held in New York, brought together Yemen's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Waed Badhib, and the UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Abdullah Al-Dardari.
According to a statement released by the Yemeni Ministry of Planning and published by the state-run Saba news agency, the meeting focused on "efforts and interventions undertaken by the UNDP in Yemen," including "the preparation of a vision for the recovery and reconstruction of the country and the unification of various frameworks within a single development framework that reflects short-term and medium-term priorities."
Minister Badhib praised the "support provided by the UNDP in updating technical and feasibility studies for priority infrastructure projects in a number of sectors and fields," highlighting the "support for partnership with the private sector and the development of statistical capabilities in preparing national accounts and other statistical data."
He also discussed the "interventions undertaken by the program in the framework of good governance, the rule of law, strengthening governance, promoting transparency and accountability, and human rights."
The UN official emphasized the UNDP's commitment to supporting Yemen in this critical phase to "move from its deteriorating economic and social situation to a state of recovery, resilience, development, and reconstruction." He stressed the importance of investing in renewable energy and environmental sustainability.
Yemen has witnessed a fragile truce for over two years, following a decade-long war between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government and Houthi rebels who control the capital Sana'a and other parts of the country.
The conflict, which began in 2014 with the Houthi takeover of Sana'a, has caused widespread destruction and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.
The World Bank estimates the cost of rebuilding Yemen from the war at $25 billion, according to Tania Meyer, the World Bank's Yemen Country Director, during the sessions of the International Yemen Forum held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 2022.