Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in a power transfer deal

Sanaa - Khalid Haroji

Yemen's Military Affairs Committee, formed by the Western-backed GCC initiative to birng peace to Yemen during its pro-democracy uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, discussed on Sunday a number of issues related to the modernisation of Yemen's defence and security institutions.
The plan has been drafted by United States military delegation stationed in Yemen for several weeks.
In the meeting the committee emphasised the necessity "to benefit from the previous plans and expertise of friendly countries to develop and modernise the armed and security forces".
The committee reviewed programmes to develop the armed forces according to a schedule based on a Yemeni vision.
The participants in the meeting affirmed the importance of developing and modernising the defence and security institutions, as well as achieving a qualitative leap in its structure and organisation.
The military committee confirmed its determination to go forward in organising and restructuring the armed forces, as an essential part of the GCC initiative.