Director of GCC's Office in Yemen Met With Yemeni Businessmen at YBC.

His Excellency ambassador Saad Al-Arefi, Director of GCC's Office  in Yemen has expressed his happiness to meet a group of Yemeni businessmen .The Ambassador said  in an interview in the Yemeni Businessmen Club (YBC ) in Sana'a on Monday evening 1/4/2012  that the relationship between the GCC and Yemen is a historic relationship built on the common interest of the people of the region and dominated the meaning of genuine brotherhood and good neighborliness and they evolve day after day

The Ambassador Arifi said that the GCC's office in Sanaa was established  in July of last year at the request of the Yemeni government like the rest of international missions, noting that the office focuses on the political side to follow up the implementation of the Gulf initiative, and also focus on the economic side through following up  development programs' execution submitted by the Gulf states and make sure it  goes according to  what is planned, and in coordination with the Yemeni government, expressed the readiness of the GCC office to  support the private sector in the implementation of donor- projects countries, as well as the establishment of a real partnership in the economic side with Yemeni Businessmen Club in particular and the rest of the bodies representing the private sector in general.

In his answers to the inquiries of  businessmen, Ambassador Arifi emphasized that the GCC office in Sana'a focuses basically on solving  the economic problem  in Yemen, and that donors'  pledges are  honest and serious, but there are challenges facing them such as Yemen's  instant ability  in absorbing grants, as well as the  preparation of  a world-class studies, valuing the  step undertaken by the Yemeni government to establish a special device to absorb grants to push its implementation that is expected  to begin over the next few months.

With regard to the argument based recently on Yemeni labor stationed in Saudi Arabia, said Engineer  Saad  Alarefi that there are millions of Yemenis working in the Gulf States legally and represent the common interest of both sides, and that the history of the Yemeni labor in the Gulf is a proud history, adding that what happened in Saudi Arabia was  simply a  reactivation of an existing law twenty years ago aims to  regulate the employment of all nationalities,not  Yemeni labor  in particular .He also  said that sharp media trades  on this issue does not serve the interest of the Yemeni labor located in the Kingdom, and that the issue can be resolved through Friendly communion between the two political leaderships of the two neighboring countries. He also  noted the positive efforts of the Gulf countries in the rehabilitation of Yemeni labor by creating more than 18 vocational and technical institutes to train Yemeni labor  and qualify them for the labor market in the Gulf during the coming period

For his part, President of the Yemeni businessmen Club, Mr.FathiAbdulwaseaexpressed deep thanks for the efforts ofHis Excellency,AmbassadorSaadAl-arefi inovercoming the obstacles thatfacethe implementation of projectssubmitted by theGCC, stressing that therelationship between Yemenand the Gulf, especially SaudiArabia is eternal to preservethe interests ofthe two countries. He also stressed on  the need to deal rationalewith such issuesandstay away fromreacting  purely emotional, referring tothe importance of focusingon thecomprehensive rehabilitationfor individuals andprivate enterprisesand government institutions, so that we cancompete, as well as dealingprofessionallywith others, showing in this regard YBC's readiness to effectively  participate  inthe processof developmentas  partners  side by side with donors andthegovernmentsectorandcivilsocietyorganizations,

The meetingwasattendedbya large numberofmembers of theYemeni Businessmen Club.