President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh with US President Bill Clinton during an official visit to The White House Oval Office. (image courtesy of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum)
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emen’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) proposes progress based on four pillars: Increasing non-oil growth; Improving human development outcomes; Improving fiscal sustainability; and Addressing the resource sustainability crisis. The CAS also includes, under each pillar, dynamic actions to improve economic governance. The Consulate has expanded its operations and to accommodate the impressive growth of the Yemeni community in the United States and has also expanded its capability to handle increased requests for tourist visas to Yemen. The Cultural Attaché Office has significantly increased access to scholarship programs for Yemeni students seeking higher education in the US.
Office of the Military Attaché maintains excellent relations with the US Department of Defense and coordinates special training programs for visiting Yemeni military/ security personnel. In January 1990, H.E President Ali Abdullah Saleh made his first official visit to the United States just a few months before the proclamation of the Yemeni Unity. The visit contributed to our bilateral cooperation, and in the mid-1990s, the Yemeni-American relations overcame the Gulf Crisis. Washington favorably acknowledged Yemen’s efforts for democracy, freedom of the press, and the Parliamentary elections of 1993-1997. It also backed Yemen’s economic and financial reforms through its support of the IMF and the World Bank.
American relations with Yemen continued on a positive and progressive course, and from 1979 to 1991, officials from both sides exchanged visits. One visit, by then-Vice President George H. W. Bush in April 1987, coincided with the official announcement of the oil discoveries in the fields of Mareb by a Texasbased oil company. Under that Bush Administration, relations between the two nations reached an all time high. Diplomatic relations between Yemen and the US date back to 1946. These relations were strengthened in 1959 with the establishment of the first US resident mission in the city of Taiz. The US was one of the first countries in the West to recognize the proclamation of the Arab Republic of Yemen of 1962 when President Kennedy announced his support for the new republic. In December, 1967, Washington recognized South
Yemen’s independence from Britain and announced its intent to open a resident mission. However, that plan was discarded due to the Socialist political tendencies that later prevailed in Southern Yemen. In the late 1990s, the bilateral interest of both countries intensified as senior officials from the State Departments, Defense Departments, and parliamentarians from both countries exchanged visits. American governmental and non-governmental institutions such as the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the International Foundation for Elections Systems (IFES), have developed a strong partnership with the Yemeni Government in order to support its democratic experience.
www.YemenEmbassy.org Tel +1.202.965.4760 Best of DC
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