Alistair Burt Discusses Friends of Yemen Conference

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen is fast approaching a pivotal juncture. On the one hand, the country represents one of the more successful cases to emerge from the Arab Spring: Demonstrations first broke out in early 2011 and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh relinquished power in November that year. As part of a Gulf initiative for political transition, democratic elections were then held in February 2012, and Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi was appointed president. On the other hand, the politica...

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Friends of Yemen Support National Dialogue

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Representatives from 39 countries and organizations were welcomed in London on Thursday morning by British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, for the fifth meeting of the Friends of Yemen. The meeting at Lancaster House in central London was co-hosted by Hague, Nizar bin Obaid Madani, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Dr Abu-Bakr al-Qirbi, Yemen’s Foreign Minister. Despite the serious concerns that remain about Yemen’s socio-econom...

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