Almotamar.net, SABA - President Ali Abdullah Saleh has on Saturday reiterated the call for building a national centre in Yemen to encounter piracy acts, proposing the participation of the US, the European Union and the countries situated on the Red Sea.


During his meeting in Aden on Saturday with visiting Commander of the US Central Military Command General David Petraeus, President Saleh praised the Yemeni American relations and the existing cooperation and partnership between the two friendly countries, affirming the keenness on enhancing the relations and pushing them forward in the way realising the common interests.

The meeting discussed bilateral relations and aspects of cooperation, particularly military and security cooperation and combating terror in addition to coordination efforts of the two countries with regional and international efforts for fighting piracy acts against a number of ships in the international waters at Aden Gulf and in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

General Petraeus praised the level of the existing relations and partnership between the two countries and the successes achieved by Yemen in fighting terrorism. He expressed his condolences for the Yemeni security men victims in the terrorist incident that targeted building f the American embassy in Sana'a as well as the victims of floods in Hadramout and Mahara.

On the other hand General Petraeus said Yemen has become among the three-top countries in fighting against terrorism.

During his meeting with the Interior Minister Mutahar al-Masri, Petraeus said that Yemen reached this position after thwarting the terrorist attack targeted the US embassy in Sana'a on 19 September this year.

The minister affirmed the importance of activating communication between security agencies of both countries to realize Yemen's security and stability because of its significant geographical location.

Al-Masri highlighted the great role of the security authorities to fight against terrorism in the country.

The U.S. military official praised the effort of anti-terrorism agencies in the country and their efforts in this regard.

The meeting also discussed aspects of security cooperation and coordination between the two countries.