Addis Ababa, July 18(ENA)--The official working visit of the Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to Ethiopia was expected to further consolidate the friendly relations that exist between the two countries to a new height in the years ahead, ministry of foreign affairs said.

General directorate of Asia, Australia and the Middle East desk with the ministry told ENA on Friday that president Saleh's visit to Ethiopia could also be instrumental in promoting people to people relations and establishing durable peace in the region.

The joint ministerial commission established in 1992 with a view to strengthening bilateral cooperations between the two countries has been effectively discharging its responsibilities, it said.

Various cooperation agreements have been signed since the establishment of the joint ministerial commission.

The official visit of Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi to Yemen in 2002 has enabled the two countries to cooperate in various sectors of development .

Presently 15 Yemeni companies with a combined capital of 209 million birr have been licensed to operate in Ethiopia, according to the directorate.

Because of their strategically important positions both in the Horn of Africa and the Read Sea, Ethiopia and Yemeni have been playing a leading role for the establishment of peace and stability in the region, it said.

President Saleh would visit Ethiopia beginning on Sunday at the invitation of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

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