LONDON (AFP) – World powers gather in London Wednesday for discussions on tackling violent extremism in Yemen, called in the wake of an alleged bid to blow up a U.S. airliner by a Nigerian linked to Al-Qaeda there.

Ministers and officials from 21 countries chaired by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband will discuss security plus wider economic and political problems facing Yemen, the poorest state in the Arab world.
Experts warn that unless Yemen is stabilized, it could become a “failed state” like its lawless neighbor Somalia.
“What we want above all is a commitment on the development (and) the building of our capacities against radicalization,” said Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi on the eve of the meeting.
But the shortness of the London meeting -- it will only last for just two hours, on the eve of a bigger conference on Afghanistan -- has already provoked derision from some British lawmakers, who have labeled it a gimmick.
Miliband said Sunday that Yemen “has been rising on our radar for the last 18 months to two years”, but its troubles only made headlines in December, when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to detonate explosives in his underwear on a plane approaching the U.S. city of Detroit.
President Barack Obama has accused Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula of training, equipping and directing the suspect, while Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Sunday claimed responsibility for the plot -- and vowed further strikes.
The London meeting, called by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, will focus on “how to assist the Yemen government to improve security, root out Al-Qaeda and promote economic and social development,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
Yemen's many problems -- including corruption, water shortages and a dwindling oil industry that provides three-quarters of government revenues -- should be viewed in the round, according to academics.
“It's essential that the international community comes together with a collective approach and embeds any counter-terrorist measures within a whole of government approach,” said Ginny Hill, an associate fellow at foreign affairs think tank Chatham House in London.
“Any solution for Yemen requires a regional response which includes... Yemen's relationships with Somalia.”
Western countries have been providing support for Yemen for some time -- Britain's initiatives include supporting a counter-terrorism police unit with the United States -- but some say the Yemeni government needs to do more.
Yemen is strongly opposed to Western intervention in its efforts to combat Al-Qaeda.
It stepped up the fight this month with a military crackdown against Al-Qaeda, thought to be hiding in mountains east of Sanaa, and has also stopped granting entry visas on arrival at airports to stop militants coming in.