The Yemeni Council on Foreign Relations (YCFR) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit think tank that aims to advance research and policies by convening and publishing on Yemen’s most critical issues locally, regionally, and internationally.
Founded in Yemen in 2022, YCFR is Yemen’s only registered membership organization that is independent, non-partisan, and inter-disciplinary in its approach to policy issues. Our diverse pool of highly influential and respected members represents Yemenis of all political affiliations and geographic locations.
YCFR utilizes its resources to empower its members and engage Yemeni people, media, officials, businesses, and other sectors in a way that helps guide opinions and informed decision-making. It also prioritizes its engagement with other countries to educate international stakeholders on issues of interest to Yemen.
Purpose and Mission
The Yemeni Council On Foreign Relations is established in a very critical situation in Yemen since the outbreak of the ongoing war and in a situation where the events of Yemen cast their shadow and affect Yemen’s regional and international relations. Like other states, Yemen is keen to find a balance in its regional and international relations with its national and sovereign interests based on the principle of partnership and cooperation.
The conflict in Yemen has forced many of its leaders, experienced people, and stakeholders to search for other countries to reside in. Moreover, the acute political polarization has led many of those with long political and diplomatic experiences to leave the Yemeni political and diplomatic landscape which eventually led to the loss of expertise that has accumulated over the years and still had a lot to offer.
Many of them have made diplomatic achievements in sensitive circumstances, and some have been local and international intermediaries in bringing together viewpoints and obtaining international aid and assistance. The Council is the forum in which those involved in Yemen’s foreign relations share their visions and provide advice.
The reality of Yemen today requires, more than ever before, that all those with experience in Yemeni foreign relations, whether politicians, diplomats, economists, traders, intellectuals and researchers, be called upon to emerge from the diaspora and return to work together, to contribute to shaping our common horizons as a group, not as individuals, and to consider the future of Yemen and future generations and not the future of political parties and self-interests. These groups have a wide network of local and external relations built during their careers, which can be invested in supporting the peace process in Yemen, advising all reconstruction programs, local developmental and economic projects, and creating business opportunities.
The Yemeni Council On Foreign Relations is not a substitute for official work and does not replace it, but it works with the Council in accordance with the rules and values approved by the Constituent Assembly, taking advantage of the experience and relations of its members to strengthen Yemeni foreign relations. The council aims to provide a vision of Yemen’s Foreign Relations that goes beyond the improvisation stage and is based on a future plan related to experience and strategic analysis. The Council adopts and approves, in accordance with the Council’s internal regulations, its general perceptions and plans for Yemen’s Foreign Relations which regulate the mechanism for the election of its General Assembly, and the adoption and approval of plans and consultations, by the General Assembly or subsidiary committees.
The center works through a vision of local, regional and international dimensions. At the local level, the Council will seek to activate the role of influential figures in strengthening the common national denominator and playing the role of mediation in community reconciliation. Regionally, the Council will have a role to play by clarifying the strategic depth of Yemen in its regional environment and the need to support its real development projects in order to overcome its current plight. Internationally, the council will work to correct the compass of concerns about Yemen’s position in the regional and international environment and to consider the opportunities that a stable and secure Yemen can create through its strategic location, natural diversity, and historical legacy.
To achieve its objectives, the Council relies on the values of cooperation, partnership, trust, transparency, planning, governance, and diplomacy.
The council will analyze and study Yemen’s historical and current foreign relations and their future prospects and will contribute to the strategic planning to develop and implement these relations to make the most of them.
Activity
The Council relies on solid foundations and a strategic outlook in achieving its objective in the development of Yemen’s foreign relations through:
- Holding seminars and consultative meetings
- Establishing a research center to conduct researches and studies
- Issuing bulletins, research, and periodical books
- Communicating with the different international bodies concerned with various, personal, media, and research means
- The council will focus on establishing a specialized social media unit
