Almotamar.net, REUTERS - UNITED NATIONS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Yemen will allow international monitors to keep an eye on multi-party parliamentary elections early next year to ensure their fairness, the Arab country's foreign minister said on Monday.
Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi also told the U.N. General Assembly that international donors should give generous aid to Yemen which he said was itself a victim of militant terror attacks.
Yemen has said it supports the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but Yemen is still viewed in the West as a haven for Islamic militants.
"The start of 2009 will witness the fourth parliamentary polls in Yemen in which the various political parties will take part," al-Qirbi said in his speech.
"We stress here that the Yemeni republic will take all measures in order to guarantee the fairness of the elections and to adhere to international standards and we welcome the participation of international monitors," he added.
Yemen is a small oil producer with exports of about 200,000 barrels per day.
Despite having one of the slowest economic growth rates in the world, the country is "pressing on in its democratic path," Qirbi said.
This "is manifested in political pluralism, freedom of expression and speech, and consolidating the role of civic society institutions and the peaceful sharing of power," the minister added.
He said that terrorist assaults have cost the country more than $2 billion in economic losses.
The militant attacks "hindered the implementation of development programs and government efforts to reduce poverty and reflected on citizens' lives," the Yemeni minister said.
"So we ask donor countries, international organizations and Yemen's partners in fighting terrorism to provide generous aid for it to boost its development programs and to combat poverty, both important factors in combating terrorism," Qirbi said.
"Terrorists take advantage of poverty, need and ignorance to recruit members," the minister added in his speech.