http://www.english.hadhramaut.info 34th meeting of UNWTO committee for Middle East opens in Sana'a [The Source: SANA"A/hadhramaout.info/sabanews.net - 22/06/2010] The 34th meeting of the World Tourism Organization's Committee for the Middle East started on Tuesday in Sana'a. The meeting was organized by the Tourism Ministry in association with the UNWTO. About 65 delegates representing 12 Arab and international organizations and private sector are attending it. At the launch, Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs, Minister for Local Administration, Rashad al-Alimi, affirmed Yemen's keenness to achieve sustainable tourism development that can preserve the rights of the coming generations and resources as well as helping the Yemeni people to find job opportunities to limit poverty and achieve comprehensive sustainable development. He underlined the national tourism strategy that drew the support of the UNWTO, the UNDP and the World Bank through cooperation and partnership agreements for preparing the strategy to be an encouraging factor for tourist investment and the private sector. Yemen and the international community are working together to face the global phenomenon of terrorism that has already affected the interests of all countries, mainly tourism, he said. This meeting is a strong and very important message that the international community and international organizations concerned with tourism will continue their activities to serve the communities and protect their interests from terror, he said. He hoped that the UNWTO will support the tourist sector away from media exaggeration about the situation in Yemen to convince other countries lift and modify travel warnings to the country. Yemen has taken suitable measures to ensure the safeguard of tourists through setting up the tourist security unit, approving automatic system for tourist convoys, setting up the tourist crisis management facility and involving the local communities in tourist activity, he said. Moreover, he highlighted poverty saying it is one of the major problems in the country under limited resources. The government is making utmost efforts to reduce poverty and dry up corruption sources and achieve legal accountability, justice and equality, he added. He reviewed the main features of the national tourism strategy for 2010-2025 and the tourist development plan for 2011-2015 approved by the higher tourism council and the Cabinet in 2009. The strategy and plan focused on how the private sector can contribute to boosting the tourist sector as well as the role of the government in using tourist resources and improving tourist investment climate