National Trade Data Bank ITEM ID : ST BNOTES YEMEN DATE : Oct 28, 1994 AGENCY : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PROGRAM : BACKGROUND NOTES TITLE : Background Notes - YEMEN Source key : ST Program key : ST BNOTES Update sched. : Occasionally Data type : TEXT End year : 1993 Date of record : 19941018 Keywords 3 : Keywords 3 : | YEMEN BACKGROUND NOTES: YEMEN PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS US DEPARTMENT OF STATE November 1992 Official Name: Republic of Yemen PROFILE Geography Area: 527,970 sq. km. (203,796 sq. mi.); about the size of California and Pennsylvania combined. Cities: Capital--Sanaa. Other cities--Aden, Taiz, Hodeida, and Al-Mukalla. Terrain: Mountainous interior with a flat and sandy coastal plain. Climate: Temperate in the mountainous regions in the western part of the country; extremely hot with minimal rainfall in the remainder of the country; humid on the coast. People Nationality: Noun and adjective--Yemeni(s). Population (1990 est.): 12 million. Annual growth rate: 3.2%. Ethnic group: Arab. Religion: Islam. Language: Arabic. Education: Attendance (est.)--67% primary, 10% secondary. Literacy (est.)--28%. Health: Infant mortality rate--116/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--52 yrs. Work force (2.8 million est.): As percentage of total population--25%. Agriculture and fisheries--64%. Industry and commerce--11%. Services--25%. Government Type: Republic. Unification (of former South and North Yemen): May 22, 1990. Constitution: Adopted May 21, 1990. Branches: Executive--Five-member Presidential Council assisted by a 38-member cabinet. Legislative--301-seat provisional unified parliament (159 members from the North, 111 members from the South, and 31 independent "at-large" members). Judicial--The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The transitional parliament passed a law establishing the court system, setting out qualifications for judges, and creating, for the first time in either Yemen, a Supreme Court. However, the law has not yet been implemented. Administrative subdivisions: 17 governorates subdivided into districts. Political parties: Yemeni Socialist Party, General People's Congress, Yemeni Grouping for Reform, Ba'athist Parties, Nasserist Parties, and Muslim Fundamentalist Parties. Suffrage: Universal over 18. National holiday: May 22 (Unity Day). Flag: Three horizontal bands--red, white, and black bands. Economy GDP (1990 est.): $7.4 billion. Per capita GDP (1990 est.): $617. Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, fish, rock salt, small deposits of coal and copper. Agriculture (est. 26% of GDP): Products--qat (a shrub containing natural amphetamine), cotton, fruits, vegetables, cereals, livestock and poultry, hides, skins, tobacco, honey. Arable land (est.)--5%. Industry (est. 18% of GDP): Types--petroleum refining, mining, food processing, building materials. Trade (1990 est.): Exports--$908 million: crude petroleum, refined oil products, hides, fish, fruits, vegetables, cotton, coffee, biscuits, plastic pipes. Major markets--United States, Western Europe, South Korea, Saudi Arabia. Imports--$2.1 billion: cereals, feed grains, foodstuffs, machinery, petroleum products, transportation equipment. Major suppliers--Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia, EC countries, China, Russia and other newly independent states, United States. Exchange rate (April 1991): Official--12 rials=US$1. Market--20 to 27 rials=US$1. PEOPLE Unlike other people of the Arabian Peninsula who have historically been nomads or semi-nomads, Yemenis are almost entirely sedentary and live in small villages and towns scattered throughout the highlands and coastal regions. Yemenis are divided into two principal Islamic religious groups: the Zaidi community of the Shi'a sect, found in the north and northwest, and the Shafa'i community of the Sunni sect, found in the south and southeast. Yemenis are mainly of Semitic origin, although Negroid strains are present among inhabitants of the coastal region. Arabic is the official language, although English is widely understood. In the Mahra area (the extreme east), several non-Arabic languages are spoken. When the former states of North and South Yemen were established, most resident minority groups departed. HISTORY Although its early history is obscure, Yemen was one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Between the 12th century BC and the 6th century AD, it was part of the Minaean, Sabaean, and Himyarite kingdoms and later came under Ethiopian and Persian rule. In the 7th century, Islamic caliphs began to exert control over the area. After this caliphate broke up, the former North Yemen came under control of the Zaidi sect imams1, who established a theocratic political structure that survived until modern times. Egyptian caliphs occupied much of North Yemen throughout the 11th century. By the 16th century, North Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire and its imams exerted suzerainty over South Yemen. Former North Yemen. Under the Ottoman Empire, Yemen had nominal sovereignty until World War I. Turkish forces withdrew from former North Yemen in 1918, and Zaidi Imam Yahy strengthened his control over the area of former North Yemen. After brief military encounters with Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom (which controlled the Aden protectorate in what was former South Yemen), its boundaries were established by treaty with those two countries. It became a member of the Arab League in 1945 and the United Nations in 1947. Imam Yahy died during a coup attempt in 1948 and was succeeded by his son Ahmad, who ruled until his death in September 1962. Imam Ahmad's reign was marked by renewed friction with the United Kingdom and growing pressures to support the Arab nationalist objectives of Egyptian President Gamal Abdal Nasser. Shortly after assuming power, Ahmad's son--Imam Badr--was deposed by revolutionary (republican) forces which took control of Sanaa and then created the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR). At the request of the new government, Egypt assisted the YAR with troops and supplies to combat the deposed Imam Badr. Saudi Arabia and Jordan supported Badr's royalist forces to oppose the newly formed republic. Conflict continued periodically until 1967 when Egyptian troops were withdrawn from North Yemen after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The Egyptian-supported regime then collapsed, and moderate republican leaders rallied to the defense of Sanaa against a final royalist siege of the city. By 1968, most of the opposing leaders reached a reconciliation; Saudi Arabia recognized the republic in 1970. Former South Yemen. British influence increased in the south and eastern portion of Yemen after capture of the port of Aden in 1839. The area was ruled as part of British India until 1937, when it was made a crown colony with designated East Aden and West Aden protectorates. By 1965, many of the tribal states within the protectorates and the Aden colony proper had joined the British-sponsored Federation of South Arabia. However, in 1965, two rival nationalist groups--the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF)--turned to terrorism in their struggle to control the country. FLOSY was associated with the sizable number of Nasserite Egyptian supporters in neighboring YAR. In 1967, in the face of rising violence, British troops began with- drawing. Federation rule collapsed. NLF elements seized control. The United Kingdom, having announced its intention to deal with any indigenous group capable of forming a new government, met with the NLF at Geneva. Following these negotiations, South Arabia, including Aden, was declared independent on November 30, 1967, and was renamed the People's Republic of South Yemen. During the early period of its independence, South Yemen was ruled by a three-member presidential council and a council of ministers. The NLF was the dominant political force, although a communist and a Ba'ath party also existed. In June 1969, a radical wing of the NLF gained power and changed the country's name to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) on December 1, 1970. In August 1971, a more radical NLF group achieved power at the expense of Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Haytham. In 1978, President Salim Rubbaya Ali was overthrown in a bloody coup and executed by Abdul Fattah Ismail, who assumed the presidency. The PDRY enacted a new constitution and amalgamated the three political parties into one, the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), which became the only legal party. Movement Toward Union. The Governments of the PDRY and the YAR had declared in 1972 that they approved a future union. However, little progress was made toward unification, and relations were often strained. In 1979, simmering tensions led to fighting, and PDRY troops occupied YAR territory. After the intervention of the Arab League, the troops withdrew. During a summit meeting in Kuwait in March 1979, the presidents of both countries reiterated their support for unity. However, that year PDRY President Abdul Fattah Ismail established the National Democratic Front (NDF) insurgency against the YAR. In April 1980, PDRY President Abdul Fattah Ismail resigned, ostensibly for health reasons, and was exiled and replaced by Ali Nasir Muhammad. The new president adopted a less interventionist stance toward both the YAR and neighboring Oman after 1982. Both the NDF insurgency and a similar movement against the Oman Government were reined in. However, internal opposition to Ali Nasir grew and, in August 1985, became more focused after Ismail's return from exile in Moscow. A Yemeni Socialist Party conference in October 1985 did little to reduce the tensions arising from his return. On January 13, 1986, a violent struggle began in the PDRY capital between Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail and their supporters. Fighting lasted for more than 1 month and resulted in thousands of casualties, Ali Nasir's ouster, and Ismail's death. Some 60,000 exiles, including Ali-Nasser and his sup- porters, fled to the YAR, producing a further deterioration in YAR-PDRY relations. In the PDRY, the prime minister, Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas, assumed the presidency. A period of instability followed and continued until the summer of 1986. In May 1988, the YAR and PDRY Governments concluded agreements that considerably reduced tensions and renewed their discussions concerning unification. They also agreed to establish a joint oil exploration investment area along their undefined border, to demilitarize the border, and to allow all Yemenis free border passage by presenting only a national identification card. In November 1989, the leaders of the YAR and the PDRY agreed on a draft unity constitution originally drawn up in 1981. The legislatures ratified this constitution on May 21,1990, and the Republic of Yemen (RY) was declared on May 22. On May 22, Yemen also announced a 30-month transitional period for completing arrangements for unifying the different political and economic systems. 1 In Islam, a recognized leader or a religious leader. Among the Sunni, the term refers to the leader in the Friday Mosque prayer. The term also is a synonym for caliph, the vicegerent of God. The Shiites apply it to Ali, Hasan and Hussein, and the rest of the caliphs in the family of Ali, whom they consider, alone of the orthodox calips, to have been successors of the Prophet. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS As part of the transitional period, a presidential council was jointly elected by the 26-member YAR Advisory Council and the 17-member PDRY Presidium. This council consists of five members- -three from the North and two from the South--to oversee executive duties during the transitional period. The council has appointed a prime minister, who formed a 38-member cabinet. The central government offices are located in Sanaa, capital of the former YAR, with branches in Aden, capital of the former PDRY. Employees are being transferred from the North to the South, and vice versa, in order to facilitate ministry integration. As part of the new unified government, the council also has appointed a 45-member advisory council. Yemen has formed a new 301-seat provisional unified parliament, consisting of 159 members from the North, 111 members from the South, and 31 independent "at-large" members appointed by the chairman of the council. The 31 "at-large" positions include some members of the opposition parties. The provisional parliament is entrusted with all legislative powers stipulated in the constitution, with the exception of electing members of the council and amendment of the constitution. Country-wide legislative elections are expected to be held before November 22, 1992. The unity constitution, ratified on May 21, 1990, will serve as the legal cornerstone for the new state. The constitution affirms Yemen's commitment to several important principles, including free elections, a multi-party political system, the right to own private property, and equality under the law in the areas of sex, color, origin, language, occupation, social status, and religious belief. The unity constitution was submitted to a popular referendum in May 1991 and over-whelmingly approved. Principal Government Officials Presidential Council Chairman Ali Abdallah Saleh--President Prime Minister--Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas Minister of Foreign Affairs--Abd al-Karim al-Iryani Ambassador to the United States--Moshin Al-Alaini Ambassador to the United Nations--Abdullah Al-Ashtal The Republic of Yemen maintains an embassy in the United States at 2600 Virginia Ave., NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037 (tel. 202-965-4760). ECONOMY At the time of unification, both the YAR and the PDRY were struggling with underdeveloped economies. In the North, disruptions of civil war (1962-70) and frequent periods of drought dealt severe blows to a previously prosperous agricultural sector. Coffee production, formerly the North's main export and principal form of foreign exchange, declined in the 1980s, as the cultivation of qat (a shrub whose leaves contain natural amphetamine and are chewed for a mild stimulating effect) increased. Low levels of domestic industry and agriculture and the lack of raw materials made the YAR dependent on imports. Trade deficits were compensated for by remittances from Yemenis working abroad and foreign aid. Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union and China provided large-scale assistance to the YAR. This aid included funding of substantial construction projects, scholarships for study in communist countries, and considerable military assistance. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian aid to Yemen has effectively ceased. Industrial development was still in its early stages at the time of unification, and was mainly in cement, food processing, cooking oil, flour, household plastic goods, and cigarettes. In 1966, traces of copper, sulfur, coal, and quartz were found. Oil was discovered in the Marib area in 1984 by an American oil company. Reserves currently are projected at 500 million barrels. An oil refinery began operation in April 1986. In the PDRY, economic activity was overwhelmingly concentrated in the port city of Aden. The economy of South Yemen suffered greatly when the UK military base at Aden was closed in 1967. The PDRY made small gains in diversification after the mid-1970s, and in 1982, a minor oil discovery was made by an Italian company. Other firms and nations, particularly the former Soviet Union, later participated in efforts to discover and produce oil in South Yemen. At the time of unification, much of South Yemen's revenue was derived from refinery operations in which crude oil was imported to Aden and refined products exported. As in its northern counterpart, worker remittances and foreign aid were extremely important to the PDRY economy. Foreign assistance to both countries declined, however, as oil-rich Gulf states cut back aid because of declining oil revenues. At unification, the PDRY had a centrally planned Marxist-oriented economy while the YAR was more market oriented. The unified Yemen Government currently is in the process of integrating two disparate economic systems. It hopes to complete this integration by the end of the 30-month transitional period, which is scheduled to end on November 22, 1992. Parliamentary elections, which will complete this process, probably will not take place until February 1993. The most important development for the Yemeni economy was the discovery of oil in the 1980s. The Shabwa fields in the South, the Marib fields in the North, and the Joint Investment Area (called the "Jana Block" since unification) are all believed to have substantial oil reserves. The success of oil development activities will be important for Yemen's future economic development. In 1990 and 1991, more than a dozen foreign oil companies, including US companies Occidental, Sun, Pecten (Shell-USA), and Chevron, signed production-sharing agreements with the Yemeni Government to begin oil exploration in the South. After Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, more than 750,000 Yemeni expatriates living and working in the Arab Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, returned to Yemen. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States stopped or reduced their assistance to Yemen because of its Gulf policy, which was sympathetic to Iraq. Since unification in May 1990, Chinese aid has steadily decreased. Trade also has decreased since the Gulf War, as China now requires hard currency for all purchases. Chinese concessionary financing--no interest loans--has been discontinued. Current Yemeni debt to China is estimated at $200 million. China is still involved with several public works programs in Yemen, which includes highway construction and building a dam. They are still providing educational aid in the form of medical training to Yemeni students. The influx of the returnees, coupled with the cut in outside assistance, has imposed severe burdens on the Yemeni economy: Remittances from expatriate workers largely stopped, and unemployment within Yemen increased. The returnees and their children, comprising about 7% of the population, have increased pressure on schools, health clinics, housing, and social services. The Yemeni Government seeks increased bilateral and multilateral assistance to cope with these economic problems. FOREIGN RELATIONS Prior to unification, the two nations pursued very different external relations. In the North, the Imams of Yemen sought to keep their countries isolated. Under the influence of Crown Prince Badr, large aid missions from the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China had been established in 1958 and 1959, but communist aid declined after the end of the civil war in 1970. Following the September 1962 revolution, the Yemen Arab Republic became closely allied with and heavily dependent on Egypt, which supplied troops to help defend the new republic. The Saudis feared that the republican government posed a threat to Saudi Arabia's southern border and sup- ported the royalists, enabling them to achieve considerable military success in North Yemen. After the Egyptian evacuation in 1967 and the subsequent royalist failure to topple the republican regime, Saudi-Yemeni differences were overcome, and relations were re-established. In February 1989, North Yemen joined Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt in forming the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), an Arab regional organization intended to foster closer economic cooperation and integration. In September 1989, Sanaa hosted the second ACC summit meeting, at which the four heads of state signed a number of agreements in economic, agricultural, labor, cultural, educational, and other fields. After unification, Yemen was accepted as a member of the ACC in place of its YAR predecessor. In the wake of the Gulf crisis, the ACC has remained inactive. In the South, the PDRY had diplomatic relations with many countries in the East and West and with moderate Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt. However, relations between it and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula had been marked by political incompatibility and military clashes, such as that with Saudi Arabia in 1969 and 1973. The PDRY was the only Arab state to vote against admitting new Arab states in the Gulf area to the United Nations and the Arab League. The regime which took control in 1986, however, continued former President Ali Nasir Muhammad's more conciliatory approach to foreign relations and, in pursuit of wider acceptance, undertook extensive consultations with the Eastern bloc and Arab states. Since unification, the Yemen Government has reaffirmed its commitment to the Arab League and its organizations and to the Organization of the Islamic Conference. It also has stated its commitment to the cause of the Palestinians and the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem. On a broader scope, it has emphasized that it will pursue a nonaligned policy and will seek security in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, with an emphasis on nuclear non-proliferation in this region. It also has stated its commitment to the dissemination of democracy throughout the world. The Gulf crisis dramatically affected Yemen's relations with its neighbors [see ECONOMY]. A member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for 1990 and 1991, Yemen abstained on a number of UNSC resolutions concerning Iraq and Kuwait, including the mandatory economic sanctions resolution (UNSCR 661), and voted against the "use of force resolution" (UNSCR 678). During the crisis, the Yemeni media was pro-Iraqi, anti-American, and anti-Saudi. After the invasion of Kuwait, Yemen, contrary to the rest of the region, did not condemn the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and did not support UN action to reverse the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The Yemeni Government maintained, and continues to maintain, high-level contacts with the Saddam regime. However, the government called for the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. The Yemeni Government abstained on the comprehensive "cease-fire resolution" (UNSCR 687) at the end of the Gulf War. US-YEMEN RELATIONS The United States had differing relations with the two Yemeni nations. The United States established diplomatic relations with the Imamate of Yemen in 1946. A resident legation, later elevated to embassy status, was opened in Taiz, the capital at the time, on March 16, 1959. The United States recognized the new Yemen Arab Republic on December 19, 1962. On June 6, 1967, the YAR broke diplomatic relations with the United States in the wake of the Arab-Israeli conflict of that year. Diplomatic relations were restored following a visit by Secretary of State William P. Rogers in 1972. During a border conflict between the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in February 1979, the United States cooperated with Saudi Arabia to greatly expand the security assistance program to the YAR, and relations improved greatly. Hunt Oil of Dallas, Texas, discovered oil in the YAR in 1984. George Bush, while Vice President, visited in April 1986, and YAR President Saleh visited the United States in January 1990. The United States had a $42 million US Agency for International Development (USAID) program in 1990. From 1980 to 1990, the United States provided the YAR with assistance in the agriculture, education, health, and water sectors. In addition to its USAID program, the United States has about 50 Peace Corps volunteers in Yemen engaged in agricultural development, irrigation, nursing, and English instruction. The US Information Service operates an English-language institute in Sanaa. On December 7, 1967, the United States recognized the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and elevated its consulate general in Aden to embassy status. However, relations were strained due to South Yemen's apparent concerns over US policy toward Saudi Arabia and Israel. Furthermore, the PDRY Government was closely associated with known terrorist organizations and was, consequently, placed on the list of nations that support terrorism. On October 24, 1969, South Yemen formally broke diplomatic relations with the United States and expelled the diplomatic mission. The United States and the PDRY re-established diplomatic relations on April 30, 1990, 3 weeks before the announcement of unification. After the announcement, the United States officially recognized the Republic of Yemen. Widely divergent views between the American and Yemeni Governments have affected the bilateral relationship. In FY 1990, US foreign aid to Yemen was $22 million. This aid was reduced to $2.9 million in FY 1991 and $3 million in FY 1992, due to Yemeni support for Iraq in the Gulf War. The small US military assistance program to Yemen also was canceled during the Gulf crisis. Principal US Officials: Ambassador--Arthur H. Hughes Charge d'Affaires a.i.--Bruce Strathearn The address of the US Embassy in Yemen is PO Box 22347, Sanaa, Republic of Yemen. Additional Information Available from the Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402: American University. Area Handbook for the Yemens. TRAVEL NOTES: Customs and currency: A visa is required for US citizens and may be obtained at the Republic of Yemen Embassy in Washington, DC, or the Mission to the United Nations, 211 East 43d St., New York, NY 10017. Customs controls prohibit liquor. Persons arriving in the Republic of Yemen may be required to change US $150 into Yemeni rials at the time of arrival; sufficient funds should, therefore, be carried to meet this requirement. Climate and clothing: Climate varies according to area; cool and dry at high elevations (Sanaa), hot and humid along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coastal plains. Lightweight wash-and-wear clothing is best. Health: Smallpox, yellow fever, cholera, typhoid, and gamma globulin shots are recommended; check current health requirements. Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication -- Washington, DC -- November 1992. Department of State Publication 10021--Background Notes Series -- This material is in the public domain and may be reprinted without permission; citation of this source is appreciated. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.