Minister of Planning Discusses Strengthening Development Cooperation with the Director of Operations at the Gulf Cooperation Council and Yemen

[18/06/2026 01:55]
Baku – Saba News:

The Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Yemen’s Governor to the Islamic Development Bank, Dr Afrah Al-Zuba, today discussed with Saleh Al-Jalasi, Director of the Regional Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States and Yemen at the Islamic Development Bank, a number of issues relating to the development cooperation relationship between Yemen and the Islamic Development Bank.

On the sidelines of the Islamic Development Bank’s annual meetings being held in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the two sides reviewed issues of mutual interest, foremost among which were addressing arrears owed to the Islamic Development Bank and accelerating the implementation of projects currently funded by grants provided to Yemen, thereby contributing to the strengthening of development efforts and the improvement of basic services, In addition, they discussed the possibility of increasing the volume of grants allocated to Yemen in the coming period and channelling them towards priority projects, particularly in the areas of youth empowerment and job creation.

The Minister of Planning highlighted the strategic role and effective partnership between Yemen and the Islamic Development Bank, as well as the Bank’s efforts to finance and support Yemen over more than four decades… She emphasised the importance of reaching a settlement regarding Yemen’s arrears with the Islamic Development Bank so that the Bank may resume its activities in Yemen, thereby contributing to the financing of priority projects in the agricultural sector, infrastructure and other areas.

Minister Al-Zuba touched upon the importance of increasing grants to Yemen at this stage and considering the financing of priority projects in the areas of small and micro-enterprises, youth and economic empowerment… noting the importance of having a country-specific framework for Yemen that aligns with the directions of the development plan currently being prepared for the coming years.

For his part, the Director of Operations at the Cooperation Organisation for the Arab Gulf States and Yemen emphasised the importance of strengthening the partnership and the Islamic Bank’s support for Yemen in the current circumstances, noting that consideration is being given to finding alternatives and innovative mechanisms to address the issue of arrears.