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Clinton Promotes Balanced Approach to Yemen Aid

   VOA News 11 January 2011

   U.S.  Secretary  of State Hillary Clinton has made an unannounced trip
   to Yemen, where she says she will discuss helping combat terrorism and
   other long-term problems facing the country.
   Clinton  arrived  Tuesday  in  the  capital, Sanaa, where she met with
   President Ali Adbullah Saleh.  She is also set to talk with political
   opposition figures.
   Clinton  told  reporters  the  United states is working with Yemen and
   other  nations  to  counter the threat of terrorism, particularly from
   al-Qaida  in  the  Arabian  Peninsula.  She said Yemen recognizes the
   threat  AQAP  poses  to  the  country,  and  has  become  increasingly
   committed to a broad-based counterterrorism strategy.
   Clinton  says  the  U.S.  is also focused on dealing with other issues
   facing  Yemeni  society,  including  declining  oil  production  and a
   dwindling water supply.
   In  her  meeting  with  Mr. Saleh, Clinton planned to discuss proposed
   constitutional  changes,  including  a  provision that would allow the
   Yemeni president to serve beyond his current term.
   U.S.  officials  say  they would like to dissuade Yemen from extending
   the term limit.
   Mr.  Saleh was re-elected in 2006 to a seven-year term.  He has ruled
   Yemen  since  1978,  and became the head of the Republic of Yemen when
   North and South Yemen formally merged in 1990.
   Clinton  also  said the U.S. wants to see the president and opposition
   agree  to  hold  parliamentary elections that will be fair, legitimate
   and conclusive.
   Clinton  is  expected  to  spend  four  to  five hours in Sanaa before
   traveling to Muscat, Oman.  She is on a tour of the Persian Gulf that
   began  in  the  United  Arab  Emirates and will wrap up with a stop in
   Qatar.
   The  State Department says the U.S. will provide about $300 million in
   aid  to  Yemen  this  year,  including $130 million to $140 million in
   non-military aid.

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