The Kingdom has signed a number of agreements with Yemen in a number of sectors, including health, education, social development and energy, it was announced in a joint communiqué following the 19th Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council meeting in Riyadh Sunday. The meeting was held under the co-chairmanship of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General, and Yemeni Premier Dr. Ali Muhammad Mujawwar. The agreements by the Kingdom to aid Yemen include a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for an amount of SR187 million to finance an energy project; a grant of SR150 million for water and sewage projects in urban areas; a grant of SR75 million to finance Al-Jadeeda Central Hospital; and an SR18 million grant to finance workshops and laboratories at faculties of engineering and education in Taeiz. In the previous Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council meeting the two countries had also agreed to a number of projects. This includes a grant agreement to the Yemeni Social Fund of SR375 million; SR281.2 million for public works; SR187.5 million for rural roads; SR798.7 million for a Dual-Track Road project; SR400 million for financing another road project; and SR17.2 million for fighting malaria. The Yemeni government expressed its appreciation to King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for giving SR375 million to help the country tackle the 2008 flood disaster in Hadramaut and Al-Mahara. Other aid from Saudi Arabia to Yemeni includes a donation of SR3.8 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to support shelters for displaced Yemenis in areas bordering the Kingdom. The Kingdom also sent 2,711 tons of dates to the World Food Program in Yemen last year and 300 tons the previous year. Saudi Arabia also sent SR6.6 million worth of medical supplies to Yemen to fight locusts; and supported a marine pollution system in Hudaida at a cost of SR1.9 million. The Yemeni government was also informed that the Kingdom is currently studying the feasibility of including the country in the Inter-Gulf Railways project. In terms of customs co-operation, Saudi Arabia has begun a trial of x-ray scanning systems at the Saudi customs checkpoints opposite Yemeni customs, for checking all trucks. In the field of commerce and industry, both sides expressed satisfaction with the meetings and interaction on trade. In education, it was agreed to extend the executive program of educational cooperation for the years 2010 to 2012 for 100 scholarships to be awarded to Yemeni students to study at teacher's colleges and Saudi universities. Other agreements include an executive program for cultural cooperation between the University of King Saud in Riyadh and the University of Taeiz; and cooperation between the University of King Saud in Riyadh and the University of Aden. In health, a memorandum of cooperation has been signed between the two countries by Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah and Yemen's Minister of Finance, Dr. Numan Tahir Al-Sihaibi. The Yemeni government also thanked Crown Prince Sultan for building a teaching hospital and a tumor centre at the University of Hadharmut for Science and Technology in Al-Mukalla. The Kingdom has also provided training courses for a number of Yemeni physicians, technicians and administrators at King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh. Other health projects sponsored by the Kingdom include a lump sum of SR50 million for operating and running the Hospital of Aden over the next five years; and SR4.5 million for fighting malaria. In the field of gas and mineral resources, Saudi Arabia has provided Yemen with 30,000 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas. Yemen has also been provided with SR5.6 million over three years for demining operations. The next Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council meeting will be held next year in Yemen.
