Prime Minister launches Arab fishery conference

SANA'A, Nov. 23 (Saba)- Prime Minister Ali Mujawar called on Arab
businessmen to invest in Yemen's fishery sector for promising
factors in this field and the country's long coast lines reaches
2200 kilo meter.

"It gives me happiness and pleasure to inaugurate activities of this
specific conference which it tied with the most vital sector related
to food security," said Mujawar in the opening ceremony of Arab
Conference on Fishery Investments in Arab countries.

In the conference organized by Arab Union for Fish Producers (AUFP)
and The Arab Authority for Agricultural Investments () and
Development AAAID in cooperation with Yemeni Ministry of Fishery
Wealth and General Investment Authority (GIA), Mujawar clarified
that Yemen is a fishery country of the first grade and has factors
in investment in this field for it has more than 130 islands of
different features and great variation of marine livings of great
food and economic value.

He affirmed that the government has carried out a package of
economic, financial and legislative reforms for encouraging
investment, enhancing accountability and good government, indicating
his government's keenness on following up carrying out executive
reforms and short term measures that would contribute in developing
investments top of which fish investments.


For his part, Minister of Fishery Wealth Mohammad Shamlan indicated
that the cabinet has approved recently national strategy for
developing and improving fish sector and for protecting this wealth
against futility as well as organizing, marketing and exporting
according to most updated systems. .
"The government, represented by Ministry of Fishery Wealth, has
sought to encourage investment in fishery sector via easing measures
and providing privileges and facilitations for attracting fishery
investments," added Shamlan, who affirmed that this conference would
create transparent investment environment attracting great
investments.


On the other hand, Chairman of the GIA Salah al-Attar affirmed that
fishery sector in Yemen is considered among promising sectors able
to change Yemeni economy.

"Fishery sector's contributions in the local product reached 1,7
percent in 2007 and that individual annual portion of fisheries and
marine life is 8 kilo gram," said al-Attar, indicating that fishery
exports last year reached 81,021 tons with the cost of $ 197,6
million. .
He unearthed that the size of investment in fishery field,
registered in the authority during the period 1992- September 2008,
has reached 182 projects with the total cost estimated at YR 41
billion, providing more than 6000 work opportunities.

While the Secretary General AUFP Mahmoud Radhi said that world
production of fisheries has reached 159,8 million ton and that 52
percent of them are completely utilized.

Over Arab-Arab investments in this field, Radi said that cost of
fishery investments for the past 15 years has reached $36 billion,
describing is as lower percent comparing to investments in other
fields.

The two-day conference discusses a number of studies and work papers
on developing fishery sector in the Arab world and presenting
available investment opportunities in this field, in addition to
role of fisheries in Arab food security. GIA would present two work
papers on fish investments in Yemen.

The activities of the conference started Sunday with holding the
firs work session chaired by Minister of Fishery Wealth Mohammad
Shamlan. The session disused a number of work papers on activating
investments and trade for developing fishery wealth in the Arab
region and on future prospects on fishery resources and foreign Arab
fish trade.

While the second session, chaired by the General Clerk in
Mauritanian Fishery Ministry Abdurrahman al-Qadhi, discussed work
papers and comments from a number of participating Arab countries on
investment opportunities in this field and establishing Arab company
for trading and marketing fish.