Thoughts from afar
Yemen is not a country very much on the tourist map, although if you have some sense of adventure, it should be. The protected old city of Sanaa is really an architectural marvel, as indeed are many other parts of the country. Many people in the South have surprisingly positive views of our colonial involvement in Aden.
The British Government puts a high priority on the country. Its geopolitical significance in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula is well recognised. The chaos in Somalia is sending boatloads of desperate people across dangerous waters to seek refuge in Yemen, itself a poor country. Whilst I was there last week, cholera had broken out in one of the refugee camps. There has been a sharp increase in cases of HIV/AIDS. With a soaring population and inadequate water supplies, there are huge challenges, not least some tribal insurrection in the North.
They do have, however, a very lively and critical press and are going through exactly the same debate as we are about the future construction of their upper house.
With one of the senior committee clerks in the House of Commons, I undertook a workshop in Sanaa on the Parliamentary committee system and the examination of the Budget. They seemed genuinely pleased and there are plans to take matters forward. With our reputation in the Middle East so low, and the backwash flowing, on to our own streets, it is one small way of building bridges.