Although its neighbours turned their backs for political reasons, they are re-establishing ties for practical ones. No one wants another Somalia on their doorstep.
Saudi Arabia is aware of the risk of its militants regrouping in Yemen and is believed to back the Yemeni Army. It issued 130,000 visas to Yemeni workers in 2008 and signed contracts to build hospitals and an airport in the country.
Such projects will help but they are not a long-term solution to the poverty of most Yemenis. Half of its children are malnourished and most who turn to extremism are believed to do so for economic, not ideological, reasons.
Although the control of the Government, which is maintained through a delicate balance of tribal and interest groups, appears to be teetering, Saudi influence is too strong and its anxiety too great for it to allow Yemen to descend into anarchy.
The money on its way from the Gulf is several times greater than Western aid and is far less likely to come with conditions attached on development or democracy.
Even as the country is saved from meltdown it may fail for many more years to carry out political reform, leaving ordinary Yemenis with a sense of oppression that may drive them to join extremists.
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