Yemen needs help on three levels from the London Conference, Sharaf continued. “First, we need financial and logistical support for our armed forces. We need to modernize our military infrastructure including the air force, the coast guard and the counter-terrorism forces. We need to develop information databases so that we can create a modern system for security and military operations that is on the same level as other countries in the region. Second, we will be expecting support for development in Yemen, which will lead to the revitalization of the country. Finally, we are expecting a large portion of Yemen's debt to be erased. The total amount owed by Yemen is approximately $5.6 billion and that is not a very large sum for the international community to take care of.

Sharaf explained the reasons of supporting Yemen saying, “Yemen is spending a lot of its financial resources on multiple development needs, while at the same time spending millions of dollars on strengthening security and stability, dealing with both the war on terror and sea-water piracy, as well as internal crises like the al-Houthi insurrection in the north and the separatist movement in the south.”

This is why Yemen needs development assistance in 2010 and 2011. Yemen is using its hard currency to pay interest on its national debt. The international community should cancel a big part of this debt, just as it did in other countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, which will make many things possible.

“We expect donors to support the balance of payments because stopping the outflow of hard currency on government imports will protect the value of the Yemeni Riyal. The international community should also take into consideration that Yemen is spending billions in fighting al-Qaeda and piracy at the same time. And because these two issues are global problems, Yemen needs generous support in its fight, and therefore we expect the aid to reflect the importance of these problems.

Yemen wants this conference to succeed because it will help eradicate terrorism, especially al-Qaeda's presence in the country. By helping Yemen in its war against terror and piracy, the world will enhance security and stability in a very important region, located at the gate of an important international maritime route and in the richest region in the world in natural resources, said Sharaf. He continued saying “That is why it is in everyone's interest to help Yemen fight these dangers, taking into consideration that Yemen has huge human resources, that it has the vision and the leadership necessary to accomplish this mission. All that is missing is support.