President Saleh arrives in Addis Ababa

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 28 (Saba) – President Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived in the Ethiopian Capital Addis Ababa on Sunday to participate in the Sana’a Grouping summit scheduled to start on Monday. President Saleh was received by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a number of Ethiopian senior officials, and the Yemeni diplomatic staff, community and businessmen. In his visit, the President is accompanied by Chairman of the Shura Council Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani, Foreign Minister Dr. Abu-Bakr Al-Qerbi, Minister of Industry and Trade Dr. Khaled Sheikh, Minister of State and Secretary General of the Presidency Abdullah Hussein Al-Bashiri, and Hodeidah Governor Mohammad Shamlan. Once he arrived, Saleh delivered a statement to the Ethiopian and Yemeni media, in which he said “We are happy to be again in Ethiopia, to whom we are connected by close friendship and historical ties, to participate in the second round of Sana’a Gathering.” “This gathering, since it was set up, placed a firm basis to strengthen relations and cooperation between its members in order to help people’s welfare and the regional peace,” he said. He added that the gathering is open for all the regional countries having the intention to join it in order to work together for the sake of development and peace. He pointed out that the Addis Ababa summit, to ink the treaty for founding the gathering, that “undoubtedly forms an important addition in terms of founding a typical partnership between Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia, and those want to join under the gathering’s purposes. We hope that the gathering would reach its expected dimensions and goals.” He concluded, “We in Yemen follow up carefully the developments taking place in Sudan, and insist that we stand by our brothers in Sudan and support their decisions so as to maintain the Sudanese peace, security, settlement and unity.” KN/KM SABA