Yemen PM to visit GCC countries Saturday

SANAA - Yemeni Prime Minister Mohamed Basindwa will start a tour to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab of Emirates and Oman on Saturday to seek fund for his newly-formed government's projects, a government official said Tuesday.

During the tour, Basindwa is expected to discuss with the leaders of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members about ways to establish an international fund to help revive the sluggish economy in Yemen, the official at Basindwa's office told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Basindwa would also discuss the preparation of "Friends of Yemen", an international donor meeting that was scheduled to be held later this month in Saudi's capital Riyadh, said the official.

The tour would be the first of its kind since Basindwa was appointed as prime minister of the new government in line with a GCC-brokered power transfer deal that designated to end months of protests against the 33-year rule of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The new government was formed on December 7 with equal participation of the opposition and the ruling party and was led by the opposition leader Basindwa in accordance with the GCC initiative.