President receives Pakistani PM

ADEN, Dec. 11(Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh received on Monday in Aden visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The Pakistani official conveyed greetings of Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and wishes of good health and happiness to President Saleh and more progress for the Yemeni people. They discussed fraternal relations between Yemen and Pakistan and means to strengthen cooperation in field of economy, culture and security. The discussions also came across the regional and international issues of common of both countries and the Islamic nation. President Saleh was briefed on the results of the Pakistani official’s meetings with Yemeni officials to expand horizons of mutual cooperation between the two nations. President Saleh welcomed Aziz in his visit to Yemen, pointing out that this visit comes within the framework of exchanging visits between officialsof both countries. He said that his last visit to Pakistan contributed in pushing Yemeni-Pakistani ties forward, and increasing the size of commercial exchange to be doubled. He confirmed that the Yemeni-Pakistani bonds go under the title of brotherhood, assuring Aziz of Yemen’s interest in reinforcing and developing these shared relations in various domains. For his part, the Pakistani Prime Minister voiced his happiness to visit Yemen and also towards the results reached by meetings with Yemeni officials. He asserted his country’s strong willingness to intensify and improve relations with Yemen and to push cooperation fields ahead. President Saleh’s visit to Pakistan, last April, as well as the visit of president Musharraf to Yemen, in December 2005, contributed to strengthening mutual relations between the two countries, Aziz said. AM/AH SABA