Yemen donors group meets on Wednesday in Riyadh

RIYADH (Reuters) - Two days after more than 90 Yemeni soldiers were killed in an al Qaeda attack, a donor group of Western and Arab Gulf nations meets in Riyadh on Wednesday to see how they can help Yemen push ahead with reforms and tackle its poverty and lawlessness.

The group will discuss political developments since President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in February, his 33-year rule in the Arabian Peninsula state ended after nearly a year of protests.

"We see key outcomes from this meeting focusing on types of concrete assistance the group can give to support the Yemeni government's plans for long-term reform," said a British Foreign Office spokesman.

"The group also aims to discuss immediate ways it can help address the worsening humanitarian situation."

Yemen's government lost control over large swathes of the country during the past year as the political crisis caused splits in the military and tribes were angered by U.S. drone attacks on suspected militants.

Western countries and Yemen's neighbours have watched with alarm as al Qaeda established a strong presence in areas controlled by Islamist militias, allowing the group to plan attacks outside the country.

Monday's assault on a military parade in Sanaa, which killed more than 90 soldiers, came only weeks after Washington said Western and Arab intelligence agencies had foiled an al Qaeda airline bomb plot hatched in Yemen.

Wednesday's meeting is the group's first since Saleh stepped down to allow the election of a new president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in February for a two-year transition period.

Yemeni Prime Minister Mohammed Basindwa and Planning and International Cooperation Minister Mohammed al-Saadi are expected to attend the Riyadh meeting, which will be co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and Britain.

Countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, are also likely to attend, as are the United States, the European Union, France, Egypt and Russia.

In April the International Monetary Fund resumed lending to Yemen, approving the payment of a $93.7 million loan to help the country address a balance of payments deficit that worsened during the political turmoil.

Saadi said in February that about $3 billion of aid that was pledged by the Friends of Yemen in 2006 had still not been delivered.

(Reporting By Angus McDowall; Editing by Tim Pearce)