The Foreign Ministers of The Cooperation Council for The Arab States of The Gulf (GCC) and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Yemen Dr Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi concluded their 5th joint ministerial meeting here on Tuesday The delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the meeting was headed by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nizar bin Obaid Madani. In a press statement issued following the meeting, the ministers stressed the importance of strengthening security and stability in Yemen to achieve prosperity for the brotherly Yemeni people in addition to their support for Yemen's unity and the efforts of its government calling for dialogue to ensure the stability and territorial integrity of Yemen. It said that the ministers were briefed by Yemeni Foreign Minister on the need for an urgent program, in coordination with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to finance the deficit in Yemen' budget totaling about $ 2.6 billion over the two or three years to maintain economic and financial stability in Yemen. The ministers listened to the report of the GCC Secretary General on the progress of cooperation between the GCC States and the Republic of Yemen, particularly in the development process, as total current pledges of the GCC states and regional funds amounted to about $ 3.7 billion for the projects from 2007-2010 and $ 3.2 billion has been allocated to finance 60 projects in the fields of electricity, roads, seaports, airports, hospitals, technical education and training institutes, Social Development Fund, and public works programs.
