HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Gordon Brown calls urgent meeting on counter-terrorism and Yemen [January 2010]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 1 January 2010.

Gordon Brown has invited key international partners to a high level meeting to discuss how to counter radicalisation in Yemen. The Prime Minister said the international community must not deny Yemen the support it needs to tackle extremism following the failed bomb plot on a US-bound flight on Christmas day.

Mr Brown will host the event in London on 28 January. His plans have already received support from the White House and the European Union and in the coming days Britain also aims to secure backing from Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries. In his article on counter-terrorism, the Prime Minister stated his desire to help Yemen tackle the threats from terrorism. In his New Year article he wrote:

“I have said before that Yemen – as both an incubator and potential safe haven for terrorism – presents a regional and global threat. To this end, we are already building further our support for the government of Yemen’s efforts to tackle the underlying causes of the terrorist threat through intelligence support, training of counter-terror units, capacity building and development programmes.”

The stand alone meeting at the end of January will be held in parallel with the London Conference on Afghanistan because of the interrelated issues and the cross over of key delegates participating in both events. The high level meeting on Yemen will aim to:

• Identify counter terrorism needs faced by the government of Yemen
• Encourage and coordinate donor effort in order to build Yemen’s government capacity and provide development support to areas most at risk of radicalisation
• Bring forward commitments on capacity building, training of Yemeni forces and better coordination of international counter terrorism efforts in the region
• Help Yemen with the wider challenges it faces, including promoting economic, social and political reform