Over 70 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Yemen will be subject to new and strict standards, before the renewal of their permit, announced the Yemeni government.

Over the past few days, the government met with the organizations to discuss improving their performance, and facilitate their work in various regions of the country. The government hopes such talks will improve the quality of the projects at the lowest cost and help avoid previous mistakes, according to a top Yemeni official.

Deputy Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nizar Haitham said that the majority of permits of international and regional organizations operating in Yemen expire in December, stressing that renewals depend on meeting these new standards.

Haitham told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Ministry discussed in the past few days a lot of additional measures, which will facilitate the work of international and regional organizations. He added that these discussions aim to expedite the introduction and distribution of relief aid.

The international organizations were informed on the importance of involving the government in the discussion on the country’s needs, he said, adding that the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and other ministries are studying and identifying primary and emergent needs.

The Deputy Minister asserted that the government will not renew permits of organizations that do not meet the new conditions and standards.

He noted that the ministry has received requests to renew the basic agreements for the NGOs currently operating in Yemen, and determine the criteria for the renewal of these agreements, including governorates evaluation of projects carried out by the organization in each province, the quality of projects, and whether they implemented previous projects or not, and the organization’s level of performance and implementation.

The Deputy Minister believes these standards will be a key element in improving NGOs’ level of work in Yemen and will help in the evaluation of the international organizations and ultimately improve the quality of the implemented projects.