SANAA, 4 March 2005 — Yemen is planning to host talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Mishal, a political leader of the Hamas movement on negotiations with Israel, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said yesterday.
“We expect Mahmoud Abbas to arrive here in the coming weeks with Khaled Mishal of Hamas to bringing closer the viewpoints of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority,” Saleh said.
Saleh made the remarks during talks with the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who concluded a two-day visit to Yemen yesterday.
The Yemeni leader expressed support to Abbas in his efforts to bring together the Palestinian factions to bring about a truce and a cease-fire with Israel.
“We support the Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue and moves to engage Israel in dialogue by all the Palestinian factions, including Hamas, Jihad, the People’s Front, and the Democratic Front,” Saleh said.
He also voiced hope that the international community could push for “the establishment of a Palestinian state on Palestinian territories with Jerusalem as its capital.”
He said the security of Israel “could be achieved after the military operations are ended by both sides, and after the end of the (Israeli) settlements and assassinations of Palestinian leadership.”
For his part, Schroeder said his country supports “an amicable solution” between the two sides of the conflict.
“The opportunities are now more suitable than any other time. We will endeavor to see that Israel lives within a peaceful border and without terror threats,” the German leader said.
“We look forward to the establishment of a Palestinian state with the sovereignty it deserves,” he added.
Moreover, Schroeder said that Lebanon should have the opportunity to “practice” its sovereignty and that Syrian forces should immediately withdraw from Lebanese territories.
The Yemeni president agreed, but he hoped that Syria and Lebanon “could cordially settle this issue without an interference from any other party.”
Saleh said Yemen and Germany had maintained “identical viewpoints on many issues”, particularly on the US-led war on Iraq.
“Without us agreeing anything or holding any summit, the viewpoints of our two countries were identical. We cautioned against going to war with Iraq and we were for a UN-backed peaceful resolution,” said the Yemeni leader.
During Schroeder’s two-day visit to Sanaa, the first ever made to Yemen by a German chancellor, the two countries signed two agreements on preventing dual taxation and encouraging and protecting investments.
A consortium led by the German engineering firm Siemens also inked a contract with the Yemeni government to construct a gas-powered electricity station in northeastern Sanaa.
The euro-120-million plant will be financed by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Saudi Fund for Development and the Yemeni government. It will have a capacity of 340 megawatts.
Schroeder arrived in Oman later yesterday on the fifth leg of a seven-country tour aimed at boosting trade ties with Gulf states. Schroeder was scheduled to meet with Omani ruler Sultan Qaboos for talks focusing mainly on bilateral economic relations.
Oman has long-standing ties with Germany and with an announcement from Essen-based firm MAN Ferrrostahl that it is to build a $420 million methanol factory in Oman, it has now become the Gulf region’s biggest recipient of German private investment.
During the Sultan’s reign Oman has transformed into an oil-rich and prosperous nation and with 3 million citizens now boasts the world’s second largest population growth rate.
German firms are also hoping to win contracts to build a proposed 2,000 kilometer train line linking Oman with Kuwait. Oman is buying 20 NH90 helicopters, produced by French-based NHIndustries and commonly used by European armies, for use by its own armed forces.
