Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on Yemen; and if he will make a statement. [44337]

Alistair Burt MP; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State: The Government, along with the international community, assess that the Government of Yemen needs to take urgent action to tackle its economic, security and political challenges. The Government support a comprehensive approach to helping Yemen overcome these challenges.

Bilaterally, the Government are committed to a united, prosperous and stable Yemen. We are one of the largest bilateral donors to Yemen. Our aid programme aims to address the most immediate causes of poverty, conflict and instability, and to create a more favourable environment for sustained development, through projects which focus on support for basic service delivery, more accountable and responsive state institutions, and economic opportunity.

Multilaterally, the UK takes a leading role in the Friends of Yemen, a group which co-ordinates the efforts of the international community to assist the Government of Yemen. The next meeting of the group is scheduled for 22-23 March in Riyadh. The meeting should assess progress against agreed objectives from the last meeting in September 2010 and to discuss certain key themes:

Political inclusion through the process of the National Dialogue with a view to the holding of free and fair parliamentary elections;

Clearly identified development objectives set out in a Development Plan for Poverty Reduction and supported by an appropriate funding mechanism;

Action to address threats to internal security and resolve underlying political grievances.