President Saleh’s Abroad Tour Continues [Archives:2000/14/Front Page]
April 3 2000
While in Washington President Saleh started his official talks with Defense Secretary William Cohen and senior officials in the Congress and the House of Senate. Saleh-Clinton summit talks will take place Tuesday 4, April 2000.
The President had held in New York on Saturday a press conference in which he emphasized that the call for investment in Yemen was among the major goals of his European-American tour and he would continue his call upon American and Italian businessmen and investors to invest in Yemen in economic fields especially in the field of gas, oil and minerals and to increase the volume of European and American investments in his country. President Ali Abdullah Saleh visit to the U.S. comes in response to an invitation extended by President Bill Clinton and in expression of the depth of friendly relations with the two countries and the advanced stage they had reached in various areas.
President Saleh had on Friday left Canada wrapping up a successful several-day visit resulted in signing a number of agreements with the Canadian government including various aspects of cooperation between the two countries, in addition to holding many fruitful meetings and rounds of talks with senior Canadian officials and economists and businessmen.
During his meeting with representatives of Arab press in New York Saturday, president Ali Abdullah Saleh talked about results of his visit to Canada and his current visit to the U.S. and his meeting with the UN Secretary General. The president made it clear that his visit to Canada was successful and results of his meetings with the Governor General of Canada Ms. Adrienne Clarkson, Speakers of both the houses of Senate and the Commons and other Canadian officials were good. He had discussed with them the whole issues, mainly the developments of the peace process in the Mideast and the meeting held in Geneva between Syrian president Assad and US. president Clinton, adding that his whole bilateral, regional and international level talks were successful.
President Saleh said his talks with the UN Secretary General Anan he discussed latest developments of the Middle East peace process, situation in the African Horn region and results of the arbitration between Yemen and Eritrea. Mr Anan valued that step describing it as good example for solving regional and international disputes and touched on the subject of the Iraqi people suffering resulting from the blockade imposed on them. On normalisation of relations with Israel, president Saleh said that would not be realized but after just and comprehensive peace, based on the Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian occupied territories, southern Lebanon and the Golan heights, was established in the area. He said the Israeli government
must move towards peace as it is required for all.
In response to a question on what is raised in the Arab world now that some Arab leaders are preparing their sons for power, president Saleh said that Yemen had chosen political pluralism and multi-party system, democracy and respect of human rights. He added that Yemen had held parliamentary elections in 1993 and 1997 and presidential elections. Any citizen, from any political party has the right to prepare himself to run for presidential elections, said the president. He said ” I am not preparing my son as my successor or impose him on any party.”
On his Tuesday talks with president Clinton and assessment of Yemeni-American relations, the president said talks would focus on bilateral relations, developments of Mideast peace process, situation in the African Horn, in addition to issues of common interest. He said the two countries relations were good and developing. President SaLleh said that in his visit to Italy discussion would also centre on issues of investment.
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