ADEN, 23 May — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, yesterday toured Aden city aboard a bus, accompanied by his host President Ali Abdullah Saleh as well as a number of princes and top officials. The tour covered Duwwar, the free port, the oil refinery region, the Corniche and Bareeqa.
Prince Abdullah, who arrived here on Monday at the head of a high-level delegation on a three-day visit, yesterday held second round of talks with Saleh on strengthening bilateral relations and major Arab, Islamic and international issues. The official Saudi Press Agency said the two leaders held a closed-door meeting.
Saleh presented the country’s top medals to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah at a special ceremony on Monday. The two “Republican” medals, which are usually awarded to kings and heads of state, were received by Prince Abdullah.
Addressing the function, Saleh warmly welcomed the Saudi crown prince and his delegation to his country. He said Yemen was greatly honored by the royal visit on the occasion of the country’s 11th unification anniversary.
Saleh said the border treaty signed by the two neighbors last June was instrumental in strengthening Saudi-Yemeni relations. He pointed out that Prince Abdullah’s last visit to attend the 10th anniversary had helped a lot in “melting the ice, removing doubts and building mutual confidence.” He said the medals were awarded to the Saudi leaders to mark the signing of the agreement.
Saleh also awarded unity medals to a number of Saudi princes and top military and civilian officials including Prince Miteb, minister of public works and housing, Prince Nawaf, Prince Fawaz, Riyadh Governor Prince Salman, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Prince Mamdouh, director of the Strategic Studies Center, and Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed.
On his part, Prince Abdullah conferred on Saleh the King Abdul Aziz Medal, the country’s highest honor, and reaffirmed the strong bonds between the two countries and their peoples. He also awarded top medals to Yemeni Vice President Abdurabb Mansour Hadi, Parliamentary Speaker Abdullah Al-Ahmar, Prime Minister Abdul Qader Bajammal, Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani, chairman of the Shoura Council, Abdul Kareem Al-Iriyani, political adviser to the president, and other senior officials.
