Almotamar.net - Interview conducted by Dhain Shaheen and Sami al-Riyami

President Ali Abdullah Saleh has affirmed that relations between Yemen and Gulf Cooperation Council states are good and distinguished and are based on concrete brotherly bonds and special relations even among the officials, beyond official limits and protocols.

In an interview to Al-Bayan and Emirates Today newspapers published in their editions of Wednesday in Abu Dabi, the president renewed his welcome of Gulf investments in Yemen, in particular and the Arab and foreign ones in general. Hew confirmed they will receive all care and support and will be offered all guarantees and facilities according to the valid laws and the law of investment.
The president also talked about priorities of the coming period for enhancing development in the country and achievement of goals of his election platform during the upcoming seven years, clarifying that among priorities for are the enhancement of comprehensive development, fighting poverty and curbing unemployment and corruption. President Saleh confirmed the political leadership has political will for fighting corruption which has begun receding by virtue of the measures taken by the central apparatus for monitoring and accounting, courts of public property, watching of the parliament, and the measurers taken by the government as well as establishment of the authority of bids and tenders, issuance of the law of combating corruption stipulating the formation of an authority on combating corruption. Those were in addition to sending to court all those who are charged with manipulating the public property or administrative corruption. The president said among the agenda of parliament and Shoura Council at the end of February is the completion of procedures for the establishment of an authority on fighting corruption according to corruption fighting law. According to the law the Shoura Council will present to parliament names of 30 personalities to parliament to choose 11 or 12 of them and then presented to the president of the republic for approval.

The president's talk included also the topic of managing and operating the Free Zone in Aden. The president made it clear that an international tender was announced for operating and developing it and many companies have presented their offers. Among them is that by Dubai Ports Authority but, he added that four alternatives have been presented. It is the fourth alternative wee are sticking to because it observes interests of the two parties. Those alternatives have been presented to officials of the Dubai Authority and if they will accept the fourth alternative in this case we prefer the Dubai Ports Authority as it possesses efficiency in managing Free Zones otherwise the tender will be repeated with new conditions. He said the file was referred to the government before Al-Adha Eid and the hope it will be decided upon within weeks.

On reports about a government reshuffle the president said " everything is possible", confirming that the goal of any new cabinet reshuffle, in case of doing it, is not the replacing of new faces by new ones for the purpose of just change but rather it will be as part of a strategy of implementing developmental programs and there will be the selection of the most competent personalities for carrying out those programs

With regard to fighting terror the president affirmed that Yemen has succeeded in fighting it and was able to supercede the more advanced countries in the technological aspect. Yemen succeeded despite of its scarce potentials to abort many of terrorist crimes before happening.
The president also dealt with hot issues in the region as he considered Iraq an open arena for settling regional and international accounts but affirmed at the same time the Iraqis ability, Shiite and Sunnis and Kurds, to preserve their homeland united, describing the daily killing there as outcomes of individual leaderships. And on the American new strategy and whether Iraq will be united the president said three years have passed since the American occupation and we will see what will happen in the upcoming six months. He said " My preliminary reading of the American new strategy is that it is failing, " clarifying that he had earlier sent a message to the American president Bush in which he advised him concerning the situation ion Iraq and explained to his administration its mistakes there.
Concerning Yemen's efforts regarding establishment of stability in Somalia and achievement of Somali reconciliation, the president disclosed that the Yemeni foreign ministry is presently sponsoring dialogue in Sana'a between the Somali Islamic Courts and the transitional government on the one hand and the American administration and Ethiopia on the other, considering the that the Courts have committed a grave mistake in refusing a Yemeni advice for entering into coalition with the transitional government and considered the Ethiopian military intervention in Somalia as legitimate act as long as it came in response to a call by the Somali transitional government.

On Yemen's efforts for healing the rift and bringing closer the viewpoints of the brethren in Palestine and Lebanon, president Saleh made it clear that he called president Mahmoud Abbas and the leadership of Hamas for truce and avoiding targeting the Palestinian gun at the Palestinians and also the advice that the call for early elections was not a good idea and hasty one. He asked him to provide the opportunity for Hamas as long as all have accepted the democratic choice. The president added that he has also advised the speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri on the dialogue and calming down with the government and not to take to the streets.
The interview also tackled a number of Arab and international issues.