Seminar Organized by the Consultative Council,: “Yemen and its neighbors, from border conflict to agreement and companionship” [Archives:2000/30/Local News]
With the motto “Yemen and its neighbors: from border conflict to agreement and companionship”, the Consultative Council (CC) successfully concluded a 3-day seminar held during 17-19 July 2000. The seminar, which was presided over by Mr. Abdulaziz Abdulghani, Chairman of the CC, praised the government’s peaceful approach in resolving border disputes with neighboring countries. It dwelt upon the second stage of cooperation and understanding. “Now that we have resolved the disputes with our neighbors we should move on to the stage of cooperation and companionship” Mr. Abdulghani said.
Several working papers were presented at the seminar. Many of the papers focused on the future aspects of relations particularly with Saudi Arabia as it is the most potential partner in Yemen’s trade and economy. The participants agreed on the need to spend more effort on revitalizing the economy rather than focusing on any other sector such as military, politics, etc. They reiterated the importance of activating NGOs.
The participants presented papers concentrating on three main issues:
1- Historical issues and the experience of resolving border conflicts peacefully: papers presented by Saleh Basurrah, Seyyid Mustafa Salem, Abdullah Ahmed Ghanem, and Saeed Yafi’i.
2- Legal aspects of the border issues: papers presented by Hussein Al-Hubeishi, Ali Abu Haliqa, Dr. Abdulwahid Al-Zindani.
3- Future aspects of cooperation and partnership: papers by Dr. Jalal Faqira, Dr. Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi, Dr. Khadiha Al-Haisami, Dr. Ahmed Al-Kibsi, Dr. Mohamed Al-Sabri, Mahmoud Sagiri, Noman Mohamed Al-Milhi, Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Sofan.
Following the presentation of the papers, there was an animated discussion session concerning the future aspects of the relations. The speakers answered a barrage of questions about the border agreement and how justifiable it was to Yemen, and those about the papers presented.
It is expected that this seminar will be a starting point to strengthen the bilateral relationship and cooperation between Yemen and Saudi Arabia in particular and other Gulf States in general. The government’s decisions to cut military budget is also seen as a positive step towards increasing confidence between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and is excepted to benefit the two nations neighborly countries.
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