SANAA: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton landed in Yemen on Tuesday on a surprise visit aimed at helping President Ali Abdullah Saleh tackle problems that allow Al-Qaeda to threaten his country and the West.
The first chief US diplomat to visit Yemen in more than 20 years, she said the trip was aimed at going beyond military cooperation to broach a “comprehensive strategy” for tackling Yemen's myriad problems.
“We are partnering with Yemen and other countries in the Gulf and beyond against the threat of terrorism, in particular Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” Clinton told reporters on her arrival.
“Yemen recognises the threat AQAP poses to it and it has become increasingly committed to a broad-based counter-terrorism strategy,” she said.
“At the same time, we are committed to a balanced approach towards Yemen which includes social, economic, and political assistance,” she added.
The US embassy in Sanaa said Clinton was in Yemen for a half-day visit “bearing the message of a 'long-term partnership.'”
Clinton, who is on a five-day tour of the Arabian peninsula, met Saleh for talks and lunch under heavy security at the presidential palace in this ancient city renowned for its ornate mud-brick buildings.
“We face a common threat by the terrorists in Al-Qaeda,” Clinton told reporters as she stood with Saleh on the steps of the presidential palace. “We are focused not just on short-term threats but on long-term challenges.”Saleh made no remarks.
The United States supports “an inclusive political process that will in turn support a unified, prosperous, stable, democratic Yemen,” said Clinton, who then toured the old city in a convoy of armoured vehicles.
The Yemeni embassy in Washington released a statement saying: “Yemen is keen on continuing bilateral discussions to address development and security challenges.”
Saleh's government is fighting not just AQAP, but also rebels in the north, secessionists in the south, an acute water shortage, vanishing oil revenues and a deep economic crisis.
US-based analysts fear Yemen's problems are so serious the country risks becoming a failed state like Somalia and allowing Al-Qaeda to take a firm grip on both sides of the world's oil shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden.
“We have rebalanced our aid package so it is not so disproportionately consisting of the counter-terrorism funding but also includes these other priorities,” Clinton told reporters.
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