President holds talks with US official

ADEN, Dec. 14(Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh held in Aden on Thursday talks with the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern AffairsDavid Welch, who is currently visiting Yemen. The talks discussed the bilateral relations between United States and Yemen and means of enhancing joint cooperation to achieve common interestsof both friendly countries. They exchanged viewpoints over the latest regional and international developmentswhich concern both countries, particularly situations in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Somalia as well as the Iranian nuclear file. Welch extolled the continual growth witnessed in the Yemeni-American ties in various areas as well as Yemen’s positive steps in the democratization. He also expressed admiration for the success of the September’s president and local elections. He voiced US willingness to reinforce its relations and partnerships with Yemen and support democracy and development process. Choosing Yemen to host upcoming round of Future Forum reflects the international society’s appreciation for the position of Yemen and its role in dialoguefor democracy, Welch said. For his part, president Saleh voiced his satisfaction of the level of mutual relations, cooperation and partnership between Yemen and the USA.He expressed Yemen’s desire to expand present relations between the two countries to server interests of both peoples. AM/AH SABA