The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) this week signed an Aide-Mémoire marking the commencement of a new project to help rebuild institutional capacitates in post-conflict Yemen.

The project, “Building Institutional Capacities to Prepare for Recovery and Reconstruction in Yemen”, is being funded by the G7 Deauville Partnership MENA Transition Fund. It builds on the Government of Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference Outcomes, first adopted in 2014, which represents a roadmap to building a new Yemen whereby citizenship, justice and the rule of law are achieved in accordance with principles of good governance. 

The project is being implemented by the IsDB and the OECD in close coordination with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Government of Yemen. It aims to translate the outcomes into actionable programmes for when peace arrives in Yemen to aid the country’s recovery by focussing on building institutional capacities at the central and local level.

H.E. Dr Mohamed Saed Al-Sadi, Yemen Governor of IsDB, said: “Yemen is experiencing multi-dimensional crisis – economic, social and humanitarian.  Negative economic growth and high unemployment, the degradation of basic services and rising food insecurity has displaced millions of Yemenis in a devastating war. 

“Together with the OECD, MENA Transition Fund, Government of Yemen and our partners in the international community, we are launching this project to help establish a safe and prosperous Yemen by preparing for its reconstruction and recovery as soon as peace emerges. I also want to commend the efforts of our regional and international partners for their support with the ongoing humanitarian and economic situation in Yemen.”

Taking part in the signing ceremony were: H.E. Dr. Mohamed Saeed Al-Saadi, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and Governor for Yemen, IsDB; H.E. Dr. Mansur Muhtar Vice President of Country Programs, IsDB; and Mr. Marcos Bonturi, Director of Public Governance at the OECD.

A signing for the extension to the Framework Agreement for the Business Resilience Assistance for Value-Adding Enterprises (BRAVE) Project also took place at the conference, after the approval of the additional financing amount of US$ 3 million by the MENA Transitional Fund of the Deauville Partnership.

Senior staff from the Government of Yemen’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of National Dialogue Outcomes attended the conference alongside international stakeholders from UN agencies and the World Bank.