LONDON - Yemen's government recognises the urgent need for economic and political reforms to help root out al-Qaeda militancy which risks threatening regional stability, according to a draft document at an international conference. Speaking at Wednesday's meeting in London, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged the problems Yemen faces but urged the government to improve the lot of its impoverished people and reduce the influence of militants. In the draft statement, obtained by Reuters, major powers attending the talks committed to supporting Yemen's government, which in turn agreed to discuss with the International Monetary Fund how to tackle the poverty which fuels radicalisation. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, anxious to prevent Yemen becoming a failed state, called the London talks after a Yemen-based al-Qaeda affiliate said it was behind an abortive bid to blow up a US-bound plane with 300 people on board. "The challenges in Yemen are growing and, if not addressed, risk threatening the stability of the country and broader region," the chairman's draft statement said. It said the talks aimed to find a shared analysis of Yemen's problems, "including the conditions conducive to radicalisation and instability", and called for a comprehensive approach. "The government of Yemen recognises the urgent need to address these issues," the statement added. It said the conference would affirm Yemeni sovereignty and commit to non-interference in the country's internal affairs. The Dec. 25 attack on a Detroit-bound jet drove home how al Qaeda could threaten Western interests from Yemen and highlighted the risk that it could become a failed state, compounding security challenges already posed by lawless Somalia just across the Gulf of Aden.
