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Clinton makes surprise Yemen visit
Hillary Clinton makes surprise visit to Yemen, the first such trip to the country by a US secretary state in 20 years.
Last Modified: 11 Jan 2011 13:23 GMT
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Hillary Clinton is currently on a five-day tour of the Gulf Arab region [AFP] Hillary Clinton has arrived in Yemen on a surprise visit aimed at helping Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemen president, tackle the country's fight against al-Qaeda.In the first visit by a US secretary of state to the country in more than 20 years, Clinton said she also wanted to show the government in Sanaa, the capital, that Washington wanted more than just military ties.
Yemen currently faces a series of major threats, including a rise in al-Qaeda operations spreading beyond its borders, violence from southern secessionists, sporadic clashes with Shia fighters and widespread poverty.
The US embassy in Sanaa said that Clinton, who is on a five-day tour of the Gulf Arab region, had arrived in the country for a half-day visit "bearing the message of a long-term partnership".
Clinton was scheduled to meet Saleh to "exchange views on emerging issues and discuss common interests," an embassy statement said.
In her meeting with Saleh, Clinton is likely to address leaked US diplomatic cables which allege Yemen's president admitted lying to his own people by pretending US military strikes against al-Qaeda are carried out by his own forces.
'Strong partner'
Many analysts fear Yemen's problems are so serious that 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.
On December 25, 2009 a Nigerian passenger allegedly trained by the Yemeni-based Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) was arrested for a suspected attempt to blow up a US airliner over Detroit.
AQAP has also taken credit for a foiled air cargo bomb plot in October, in which printer toner cartridges that had been rigged as bombs were shipped from Sanaa and, according to investigators, set to explode over the US.
"Yemen is increasingly a very strong partner in our counter-terrorism efforts," Clinton said in a briefing to reporters before undertaking the trip.
The secretary of state also said that "it's not enough to have military-to-military relations. We need to try to broaden the dialogue."
Washington says it is running programmes aimed at increasing jobs, helping farmers, building schools and improving health care for Yemenis, who often lack adequate services in remote regions.
Source:
Agencies
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