An international donors meeting will be held next month in Riyadh to raise aid for Yemen, an impoverished nation grappling with a political transition, a minister said on Thursday.

“The ministry is now working on completing the documents for the Yemen donors’ conference to be held in Riyadh on Sept.4 and Sept.5,” Yemeni defence ministry news website 26sep.net quoted the country’s Planning and International Cooperation Minister Mohammed Al Saadi, as saying.

“The documents include an emergency plan and a study on the investments needed.”

According to Saadi, the first day of the conference will be devoted to donations from governments and international organisations and the second day for NGOs and the private sector.

The conference will “announce the financial pledges to support the national unity government’s efforts in the coming period to mitigate the effects of the events that took place in Yemen, revive economy and development, and fight poverty and unemployment,” Saadi said. Last month Yemen’s Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al Qirbi with ambassadors of the US and Britain to discuss preparations for convening the conference.

Yemen is undergoing a political transition after a year-long uprising unseated veteran leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and left the economy of the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country in shambles.

In May, wealthy Saudi Arabia pledged $ 4 billion in aid for Yemen during the Friends of Yemen meeting in Riyadh.

Saadi had previously told reporters his country needs about $ 10 billion in urgent aid.

So far only 43 per cent of $ 455 million earlier asked for by the UN and other organisations has been received for humanitarian aid for Yemen.