JAPAN CALLS INT'L COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT YEMENI DEVELOPMENT

TOKYO, March 17 (Saba) - Japan stressed on Wednesday the significance of international community's support for the Yemeni government's efforts in development and combating poverty.

Parliament Speaker of Japan Takahiro Yokomichi said that the Japanese government would provide the appropriate assistance to enhance the security, stability and unity of Yemen.

The Japanese official's statements came during his meeting with the Yemeni ambassador to Japan Marwan Noaman.

Yokomichi said that the strategic location of Yemen prompts the international community to back the Yemeni development efforts that would be reflected on the security and stability in Yemen and the region.

The Japanese official said that his government had doubled the share of Japanese aid to Yemen, especially in the areas of health, education and rural water, in addition to its aid to raise the Yemen's capacities to fight against piracy.

For his part, Noaman extended an invitation from the parliament speaker Yahay al-Rae'i to the Japanese Speaker to visit Yemen, highlighting the importance of establishing a Yemeni-Japanese parliamentary association in the Japanese parliament equivalent to that in the Yemeni parliament.

He expressed the government's appreciation of the Japanese support for the development in Yemen and coastguard's efforts in fighting piracy.

TD/AF