Development Co-Operation Programme
DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION PROGRAMME
OF
THE CZECH REPUBLIC
AND
THE REPUBLIC OF YEMEN
FOR THE 2006–2010 PERIOD
Abbreviations
CR Czech Republic
CZK Czech crown (Czech currency)
DC IIR Development Centre of the Institute of International Relations
EC European Commission
EU European Union
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GNI Gross National Income
IDA International Development Association of the World Bank
IDC International Development Co-operation
IMF International Monetary Fund
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
NGO(s) Non-governmental organisation(s)
NIP National Indicative Plan
OECD/DAC Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/ Development Assistance Committee
PDRY People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen
RoY Republic of Yemen
PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
RoY Republic of Yemen
UN United Nations
YAR Yemen Arab Republic
WTO World Trade Organisation
Table of Contents
1. SUMMARY 5
2. Objectives and Principles of the International Development Co-operation of the Czech Republic 7
3. Yemen as a Partner in the Development Co-operation of the Czech republic 7
4. Economic, Political, and Social Situation in YEMEN 11
5. Development Priorities of the YEMENI Government 14
6. Priorities of the Development Co-operation between the czech republic and YEMEN for the Years 2006–2010 16
Sectoral Focus of the Programme 16
Geographic Focus of the Programme 16
INDICATIVE SUMMARY of the Development Co-operation Programme
of the CR and yemen for the 2006–2010 Period 16
7. INSTITUTional Framework, Management and Implementation of the Programme 20
8. Programme EVALUATION and Monitoring 21
1. Summary
The Principles of International Development Co-operation, approved by the Czech Government in Resolution 302 of 31 March 2004, established that an essential component of Czech International Development Co-operation (IDC) is comprised of programmes of development co-operation with priority countries. The objective of these programmes is that of contributing towards the promotion of the principles of partnership, efficiency, and transparency. The Czech government has identified the Republic of Yemen as one of the priority countries for long-term development co-operation, primarily due to the following:
· the need for development co-operation in this poorest of Arab countries
· the positive evaluation of Czech development projects (thus far)
· the effort to support security and stability in the region
· the potential for exporting Czech technology to Yemen
· the long tradition of relations with the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia
Yemen is one of the least developed countries in the world; according to the UNDP in 2004, it ranked 149th out of the 177 countries on the Human Development Index. GDP per capita is only USD500, which ranks Yemen in one of the last places in terms of national wealth. Sixteen percent of the Yemeni population live in extreme poverty (less than USD 1 per day), 45% in poverty (less than USD 2 per day), and every fifth person suffers from malnutrition. The very high population growth rate (3.4% in 2003), high infant and maternal mortality rates, high illiteracy among women, and high unemployment (35% in 2003) are characteristic of the social problems the country is facing. The water supply situation is already critical, a circumstance that is particularly striking when set against the increasing water demands of an expanding population.
Yemen underwent the complicated process of consolidating two different political and economic systems after the country’s unification in May 1990. The civil war in 1994 had a negative impact on the internal political and economic situation. In recent years, the Yemeni Government has commenced a comprehensive programme of economic, social, and political reforms, which are being supported by donor organisations.
The Czech Republic will focus on water management, energy, and education sectors in its development co-operation programme with Yemen. These sectors are of key importance to the development of the country and, at the same time, correspond to comparative advantages of the Czech Republic:
Development co-operation in the water management sector will focus on:
· assistance in the area of wastewater treatment
· assistance in the area of drinking water treatment
· other water management activities and water resource protection
The priorities in the energy sector are the supply of new technology and electricity grid management procedures.
Development co-operation in education will be focused on providing scholarships to universities and shorter, specialised courses aimed at the above-mentioned priority sectors.
2. Objectives and Principles of the International Development Co-operation of the Czech Republic
As a member of the European Union (EU) and of the international community of democratic and economically developed countries, the Czech Republic (CR) recognises the principle of mutual solidarity among peoples and states, and accepts its share of responsibility for resolving global problems. International development co-operation (IDC) is one expression of this attitude and represents an integral component of Czech foreign policy. The CR, in accordance with EU principles, and the protection of its interests, conducts and provides its own IDC on both bilateral and multilateral levels.
Approved by the Czech Government in Resolution 302 of 31 March 2004, the Principles of International Development Co-operation define international development co-operation in the broader sense as a deliberate government policy directed at partner developing and transition countries. In the narrower sense, IDC represents assistance supplied by the Czech state, with the objective of promoting long-term sustainable development in its partner countries, in the form of transfer of finances or material, or technical assistance.
Among the chief objectives of Czech IDC are the following: poverty reduction; economic-industrial development and the gradual integration of the partner countries into the world economy; agricultural development; the development and entrenchment of democracy, human rights and good governance; the establishment of rule of law; migration management; sustainable development with an emphasis on its environmental components; and post-conflict reconstruction.
The Foreign Development Aid Concept for the 2002–2007 Period, adopted by the Czech Government in Resolution 91 of 23 January 2002, cited contribution towards poverty reduction in less-developed parts of the world through the promotion of sustainable economic and social development, in line with the efforts of the international community, as the overall objective in the area of Czech international development assistance. The CR adopts a multidimensional approach to the reduction of poverty, which cannot be understood in solely economic terms as low per capita income within a population, but instead must be viewed in the context of other social and environmental factors as well. The CR fully supports the international Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted at a series of UN conferences in the 1990s and confirmed by the 2000 UN Millennium Summit. The main target is to halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015.
The Czech Republic’s international development co-operation is founded on the principles of partnership (IDC must be driven by demand for assistance on the part of the beneficiary country, rather than be donor-driven), efficiency, and transparency. Czech IDC reflects the CR’s interests and needs, and contributes to the enhancement of political and economic relations between partner countries and the CR. The provision of IDC is also in line with the security interests of the CR.
The Principles of International Development Co-operation after CR Accession to the EU, approved by the Czech Government in Resolution 302 of 31 March 2004, established that programmes of co-operation with priority countries are an essential component of Czech international development co-operation, with the objective of contributing towards the promotion of the principles of partnership, efficiency, and transparency. The existence of programmes will make development work more predictable and simplify planning activities for all parties involved in development co-operation.
In line with the objectives defined in the Principles of International Development Co-operation and the foreign policy interests of the CR, the Czech Government has approved the intention to focus its IDC, over the long-term, on the following priority countries: the Republic of Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Serbia and Montenegro, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Arab Republic of Yemen, and the Republic of Zambia.
3. Yemen as a Partner in the Development Co-operation of the Czech Republic
In Resolution 302 of 31 March 2004, the Czech government identified the Republic of Yemen as one of the priority countries for long-term development co-operation, primarily due to the following:
· the need for development co-operation in this poorest of Arab countries
· the positive evaluation of Czech development projects thus far
· the effort to support security and stability in the region
· the potential for exporting Czech technology to Yemen
· the long tradition of relations with the CR, or the former Czechoslovakia
The high degree of need for development co-operation stems from the desperate state of the country’s economic and social situation and the overall low level of human development (Yemen ranked 149th out of 177 countries on the “Human Development Index” in 2004). It is the poorest country in the Arab world: its position on the list of the eight priority development co-operation countries is, therefore, of utmost importance.
Czech – Yemeni relations started on an economic level in 1918, when Yemen broke free from Ottoman rule, and in the 1930s they began on a political level. In 1938, a friendship and co-operation agreement with the kingdom of Yemen was signed (ratified in January 1939); this was understood as establishing diplomatic relations. Under this agreement, both parties were to set a date on which they would commence diplomatic and consular activities. Czechoslovakia signed a new Friendship Agreement on 5 July 1956, which led to the establishment of diplomatic relations on 3 September 1956.
Czechoslovakia was one the first countries to recognise the new government after the monarchy was overthrown in 1962 and the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) was declared. Czechoslovakia and YAR signed a new Friendship Agreement in 1964, and the establishment of a Czechoslovak embassy in Sana’a was approved in December of that year.
After the second Yemen state was established, Czechoslovak relations with the two countries developed on different levels, according to the political differences between the two countries.
From 1970, Czechoslovak relations with the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) grew quite intense due to the ideological compatibility of the two former regimes. The PDRY became a recipient of Czechoslovak foreign aid in the form of university scholarships. A Friendship and Mutual Co-operation Agreement was signed in 1981. Czechoslovakia had extended a number of inter-governmental loans from 1974 onwards, which totalled USD 43 million. The issue of Yemeni obligations towards the Czech Republic was settled by the Czech Ministry of Finance, in an arrangement carried out under the guidance of the IMF, under which nearly one half of this debt was ceded, and the rest designated as part of the IDA donor programme on the basis of an intervention by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Czechoslovakia recognised the Republic of Yemen (RoY) in 1990 after the unification of the PDRY and YAR, and continued its co-operation in various areas. The new Yemeni state undertook to respect all treaties and agreements, which the Czech Republic had signed with the former PDYR and YAR. The RoY was one of the first Arab countries to recognise the Czech Republic after it was established in 1993. In its position as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the CR actively intervened to speed up the ending of the Yemeni civil war (May-July 1994). It supported a resolution on the situation in Yemen and, in accordance with this resolution, supported demands for the immediate end to fighting and dispute resolution through political means, and a request to stop supplies of arms and other military material to Yemen.
With its IDC, the CR is attempting to build upon the previous good levels of co-operation. Only one project has been implemented in recent years; others are due to commence in 2005 (see Table 1, below).
Table 1: CR development co-operation projects implemented in Yemen since 1999
Project / Responsible Ministry of the CR / Implementation Period / Implementing InstitutionSet up of an ecological network and agro-forestry solutions aimed at the sustainable development of the Sokotra island / Ministry of Agriculture / 1999–2004 / FOA - Ecological Agriculture Foundation
Supply and treatment of drinking water in the Sokotra Archipelago region / Ministry of Trade and Industry / 2005–2006 / Asio, s.r.o.
Assistance in wastewater disposal and recycling in the Hadibo hospital / Ministry of Agriculture / 2005–2007 / Asio, s.r.o.
In addition to the above, there was also a proposed project for “Lamb production optimisation by crossing local breeds with other suitable breeds in Yemen”, which was scheduled to start in 2005 with a budget of CZK 10 million.
Czech bilateral co-operation also includes government-funded scholarships for Yemeni citizens to study at Czech universities. Czech universities have a very good reputation, and many of their Yemeni graduates attain the highest posts in the civil service there.
The Czech Republic has a good standing in Yemen due to its traditionally friendly relationship. This standing could be used to increase commerce and, in particular, to support exports.
4. Economic, Political, and Social Situation in Yemen
Economic situation
Yemen is one of the 50 poorest countries in the world, and the poorest Arab country. In 2004, it ranked 149th out of 177 countries on the Human Development Index, which reviews economic and social development. According to UN figures, 45% of the population live below the poverty line:
Table 2: Yemen’s basic economic and social indicators (World Bank data, 2004)
1999 / 2002 / 2003Population, total / 17 million / 18.6 million / 19.2 million
Life expectancy / N/A / 57.4 / N/A
Infant mortality rate / N/A / 83/1000 / N/A
Under 5 mortality rate / N/A / 114/1000 / N/A
Literacy above 15 years (%) / 45.1 / 49 / N/A
Female literacy above 15 years (%) / 23.9 / 28.5 / N/A
GNI per capita, Atlas method / USD 390 / USD 490 / USD 520
GDP growth (%) / + 2.7 / + 3.6 / + 3.8
Foreign debt / N/A / USD 3.5 billion / N/A
Debt service (% of export) / 4.5 / 3.3 / N/A
Direct foreign investment / - USD 307 million / USD 114 million / N/A
Development aid per capita / USD 26.9 / USD 31.4 / N/A
In spite of the unfavourable economic statistics, foreign experts agree that Yemen has a number of comparative advantages that make it an interesting country for investment in the medium term. The most interesting of these is the market of 20 million people. It also has a wealth of natural resources (oil, gas, cobalt, nickel, gold, uranium, etc.) and a potential for the establishment of a customs free zone in Aden.