Tim O. Petschulat, the resident director of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Yemen, has criticized media focusing on political and security issues and ignoring economic issues in the country.
The Economic and Social Development Research Center and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung have recently announced the results of their survey on top economic priorities and challenges in Yemen.
At the launch of the economic priorities project which was hailed by the government, Petschulat said the success of politics depends on the success of economy and that economy is the first pillar for security and stability in any country.
"It is difficult to make a political change in Yemen without improving the national economy. There should be a set of decisions on economic priorities," he said.
"Local and international media is full of articles about the political and security situations in Yemen. I wondered the absence of reporting on economics".
According to the official Al-Thawra newspaper, Petschulat said the south cause has an economic dimension, just amid calls by the southerners and their supporters in the north including activists to address the dilemma of the south fairly and immediately.
"Despite the 1990 reunification, there is a free economy and private property in the north, while the public sector dominates everything in the south," Petschulat said, according to the paper.
"It is better to give the first priority to the economy in Yemen," he added.