Among the most promising spheres he named cement production, fishing, the oil and gas sector and supplies of machines and equipment. In the Soviet era, relations between Moscow and Yemen, which was then divided into two countries, developed fairly actively. It was Soviet specialists that discovered the first oil fields in South Yemen. They also built a cement plant. A Soviet fishing flotilla fished near the Yemeni coast. However, in the 1990s trade and economic cooperation almost ceased to exist. The same could be said about political contacts.
This period in Russian history is overall characterized by lower diplomatic activity in the East, with the only exception of the Iraqi and Palestinian settlement. Cooperation with Moscow's key allies in the region - Egypt, Syria and Yemen - fell drastically. Yet even in that period Russia made a significant contribution to the development of the Republic of Yemen. In compliance with agreements within the Paris Club, in December 1999 it wrote off 80% of Yemen's debt to Russia that totaled $6.4 billion. "This is a huge sum," Voloshin said. "This is many times more than what Yemen receives from Western countries today."
Debt relief is an important G8 initiative aimed at promoting development of the Middle East and North Africa. Russia holds a leading position in this sphere. It also provides significant healthcare assistance to Yemen. Over 350 medical workers are permanently working in that country. This is a relatively high number, given that Yemen has only 74 hospitals and one doctor per 4,450 people (its population is over 20 million).
In 1996, Russia again began admitting Yemen students to Russian universities. It annually allocates 70 state fellowships for them, which is also important for a country where 47% of adult population is illiterate and teachers are needed badly.
Unfortunately, this is not enough for Yemenis to feel that Russia has returned to their country. "Your position here is very weak; we do not see Russia's presence," several local journalists told a RIA Novosti commentator. At the same time, despite the 10-year pause in cooperation with Russia, everyone in Yemen, from ministry officials to people in the street speak very warm of it. Many older people studied in the Soviet Union and still speak fluent Russian, although some of them admit that they have not had any practice in about twenty years. A language is usually in demand when two countries have close political and economic ties.
Trade turnover between Russia and Yemen remains very low, about $8 million annually. Russia is very far from the Yemeni market; there are no direct air or sea routes. Besides, little is known about Yemen in Russia today. Companies that do not have substantial state support are unwilling to operate in countries where the security situation is unstable. For risks to be justified they need really large projects, such as in Iraq.
Yemen is perhaps the only Arab country among traditional Soviet allies where Russian companies have not yet tried to recover positions lost in the 1990s. However, the situation is gradually improving. Now, Voloshin says, many Russian companies send their representatives to study the Yemen market and to learn its opportunities. A delegation of the Yemeni Chamber of Commerce and Industry has recently visited Moscow to discuss bilateral cooperation. Russia and Yemen are likely to sign important contracts. One of them may be for the supply of 500 Russian Kamaz trucks to the Arab country.
Still, a sudden surge in trade is not to be expected, although the restored political dialog between Moscow and Sanaa suggests that their trade and economic ties will become stable, though not large-scale yet.
Russian diplomats give high assessments of Russian-Yemeni political cooperation. Voloshin reminded that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh had visited Russia twice, in 2002 and 2004. This gave an impulse for the development of military-technical cooperation, whose scale is now comparable to that of the Soviet era. The only difference is that now Russia does not sell weapons on credit.
It is very important for Moscow that the Yemeni leadership always responds positively to Russia's initiatives in the Middle East and supports it in international organizations, Voloshin said.
Russia, in its turn, hopes that the political situation in Yemen will remain stable, contributing to the further development of bilateral relations.
