US & Yemen sign new agreements [Archives:2003/670/Local News]

Sanaa, September 20 – Mr. Ahmed Sofan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and U.S Ambassador Edmund J. Hull signed an agreement on Wednesday to allocate funds for a number of projects in Mareb, Al-Jawf and Shabwa provinces.
Based on the agreement, the US government will finance health projects in Al-Jawf and Shabwa, build a museum and construct school desks for public schools in Marib.
The fund will also be used to train individuals who will work in the new facilities.
The museum to be constructed in Marib is planned to bring more tourists to the region and hence contribute to the preservation of Yemen's tourist sites and expose Yemen's rich cultural heritage. Hope lies in the project's potentials in providing more revenue to the state from tourism and therefore, help in economic development. The agreement also focuses on the continuation of the current program to manufacture student desks for public schools in the region.
During the signing ceremony, Ambassador Hull stated that he is pleased that the United States and the Republic of Yemen are continuing their partnership to provide real and practical projects that directly benefit the Yemeni people. The funds for these projects come from a U.S Department of Agriculture commodity conversion program, know as 416 (b). Yemen has been receiving assistance from this program since 1999.
Ever since, the program provided a total of more than $86 million dollars in development funds to Yemen.
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