The United Kingdom has a long historical relationship with Yemen dating back to 1839 when Captain Haines claimed the port of Aden for Queen Victoria as her first new overseas territory after her coronation. Aden grew to become a hub for East India, and the world's second busiest port after New York. Passenger ships and cargo ships all frequently berthed in Aden on their way to Bombay, Singapore and Australia. During the colonial period, many Yemenis came to live and work in the UK, founding Yemeni communities there, which still thrive today – notably in Liverpool, South Shields, Birmingham and Cardiff.

Britain opened formal diplomatic relations with North Yemen in 1962. After the withdrawal of British forces from Aden in November 1967, full relations were established with the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and with the Yemen Arab Republic in the North. After Yemeni unification in 1990, the UK concentrated its representation in Sana'a but kept a consulate open in Aden until 2005. A new purpose-built British Embassy premises in Sana'a was opened in December 2006 by Dr Kim Howells (Minister for Foreign Affairs) in December 2006. This marked a new phase in UK-Yemeni relations.

In 1997 negotiations on a new aid programme were started and the Department for International Development (DFID) has since developed a strong partnership with the Government of Yemen. Current aid is £20m per annum, supporting programmes on Education, Health, Justice & Policing, Public Financial Management and the Yemeni Social Fund for Development.  DFID is also currently designing water management, tax, and private sector development  support programmes.  Our bilateral aid funding will rise to £50m a year from 2010, monitored through our 10-year Development Partnership Arrangement with the Government of Yemen.

The British Council has been in Yemen since 1940, with a gap during the revolution. The office in Sana'a runs an active programme in education, information, and arts and sciences, organising events, scholarships, courses, examinations, links and exchanges between the UK and Yemen. Activities for 2007 include the opening of a Partnership Teaching Centre in Sana'a, to deliver high quality English language teaching.

There is an active British-Yemeni Society in London that organises visits and cultural exchanges, in recognition of the shared history of the UK and Yemen. Similarly, the Yemeni British Friendship Association, based in Sana’a and chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abubakr al-Qirby, meets regularly and brings together Yemenis with links to the UK.  In February 2008 the first British Trade Delegation, organised by the Middle East Association and the Yemeni Chamber of Commerce, made a successful visit to Yemen

There have been a number of UK visitors to Yemen in recent years, including Keith Vaz MP, then Minister for Europe in 2000, and the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, who participated in the Sana'a conference on Human Rights, Democracy and the role of the International Criminal Court, in January 2004.

More recently, Dr Kim Howells (Minister for Foreign Affairs) visited in January 2006 and again in May 2008; Shahid Malik (Minister for International Development) visited in August 2007.  There have also been visits by a number of parliamentarians, including Richard Spring MP (representing the Westminster Foundation for Democracy), Anne Snelgrove MP, Mark Simmonds MP, Andrew George MP and Tim Loughton MP. Keith Vaz MP led two visits to Yemen by the Parliamentary All-Party Yemen Group, in 2003 and 2006. High-level visits to the UK have included the then Yemeni Minister of Justice and the Yemeni Foreign Minister in 2004, President Ali Abdullah Saleh's visit as a guest of government in 2004, the Minister of Education in 2005 and the Yemeni Minister of the Environment in 2006.