Al-Zuba and Baslama discuss with the World Bank support for empowering local authorities in Yemen

[17/04/2026 05:29]
Washington – Saba

The Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Yemen’s representative to the World Bank Group, Dr Afrah Al-Zuba, met today in the US capital, Washington, with a World Bank team to discuss ways of supporting the Yemeni government’s efforts to empower local authorities and develop the relationship between the central government and local authorities.

During the meeting, held via video conference, the Minister of Local Administration, Badr Salma, outlined the government’s vision for strengthening the relationship between the central government and the governorates, the process of empowering local authorities to deliver services and drive local economic development, and preparations for an upcoming international conference in June bringing together all relevant stakeholders.

The Minister of Local Administration emphasised that the issue of local authority empowerment is a priority for the Presidential Leadership Council and the government, noting that the Ministry is working according to a phased approach based on first strengthening local authorities, then trialling decentralisation models in a limited number of governorates before expanding, thereby ensuring risk mitigation and building on lessons learnt. He emphasised the importance of technical and knowledge-based support from the World Bank and international partners, calling on them to join as strategic partners in this pivotal initiative.

Dr Afrah Al-Zouba highlighted the importance of this issue as a fundamental pillar of the country’s recovery, stability and development, stressing that empowering local authorities forms part of building a new social contract between the state and its citizens, and strengthening the readiness of national institutions, She emphasised the importance of close coordination between the relevant ministries and the inclusion of this issue in the priorities of the National Development Plan and the new partnership framework with the World Bank.

For its part, the World Bank team expressed its readiness to play the role of a strategic technical partner on this issue, reviewing comparative international experiences that could be utilised in the Yemeni context, and reaffirming its commitment to supporting the government’s efforts through analytical work and technical support.

During the meeting, held on the sidelines of the 2026 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, both sides agreed to continue coordination and form a joint technical team for follow-up, and to work on providing the necessary technical support ahead of the upcoming international conference, in coordination with international partners working on this issue.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Water and Environment, Engineer Tawfiq Al-Sharjabi; the Chargé d’Affaires of the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, Imad Bamtarif; the Advisor to the World Bank’s Executive Director, Dr Jihan Abdul-Ghafar; and a team from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.