In 2000, the Yemeni-German Shibam Urban Development Project (SUDP) launched its activities. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenar-beit" (GTZ) GmbH and the German Development Service (DED) are working with local partners -such as the Historic City Organisation- on the complex task of sustainable district and urban development.