almotamar.net - Paris-Visiting President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen and the French president Jacque Chirac held Saturday talks at Elysee Palace discussing means for enhancement of bilateral relations, areas of cooperation, and the existing partnership of the two countries in various fields.

The meeting also discussed and exchanged viewpoints about developments of situation in the Middle East and regional and international developments of common interest, especially the situations in Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, the Horn of Africa and the Iranian nuclear file in addition to international efforts exerted in the area of fighting terror.
The French president renewed his congratulating of president Saleh on success of the presidential and local elections held in Yemen on 20 September and on the trust the Yemeni people granted to president Saleh for leading Yemen in the coming period. President Chirac praised what international reports contained of confirmations on decency and transparency of the Yemeni elections and the strong competition during them. He added that they were great results of real democracy Yemen is following. The French president also congratulated president Saleh on success of the donor conference in London, affirming French continual support for Yemen�s development and democracy and the increase in the volume of French assistance to Yemen. The French president also explained to president Saleh the new French initiative in cooperation with a number of European countries, among them Spain and Italy, for activating the peace process in the Middle East and pushing it towards finding peaceful and just settlement for the Arab Israeli conflict, stressing his support for the efforts of Yemen for interest of establishing peace in Somalia.
The two presidents� talks were attended for the Yemeni side by the president�s political advisor, the foreign minister, the minister of state secretary general of presidency and he Yemeni ambassador to France. For the French side the talks were attended by the political advisor to the French president and the French ambassador to Yemen.
After the summit meeting between the French president Chirac and Yemen�s president Saleh, the Yemeni president gave a press statement describing the talks with president Chirac as excellent, where they have discussed the French-Spanish initiative and Israel�s immediate response of rejecting that initiative. President Saleh added that he was expecting the Israeli refusal of the initiative as it had refused previous initiatives and all resolutions of international legitimacy, saying Israel would shoulder all outcomes as a result of its obstinacy and arrogance with which it responds to international legitimacy resolutions and initiatives. He also said he had discussed with president Chirac the situations in Iraq, Somalia and the Iranian nuclear dossier, mentioning that points of view mostly identical with the French side.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived in Paris on Saturday in a visit to France in response to an invitation extended to him by the French president Jacque Chirac.