Pakistan and Yemen expressed a strong desire on Sunday to strengthen their bilateral relationship and agreed to cooperate in countering terrorism as President Pervez Musharraf and host leader Ali Abdullah Saleh led wide-ranging talks between the two sides.
Musharraf and Saleh said the two countries should cooperate and co-ordinate in the field of intelligence in fighting the menace of terrorism.
The two leaders had consensus that the Muslim leaders should strive for reforming the Organisation of Islamic Conference, amend its charter and give it a new name.
"The OIC should be reformed to give it vibrancy and dynamism in addressing challenges of socio-economic and scientific development," said Musharraf, who is the first Pakistani leader to visit Yemen in the last 15 years.
The President proposed mandatory contribution by member states to raise a fund for advancing the Muslim countries in the field of science and technology.
He said the Muslim countries should take actions to address problems within their countries and co-ordinate efforts in removing misperceptions about the great religion of Islam, which stands for peace and harmony.
On enhancing bilateral trade, Musharraf pointed out that Yemen could import a host of products from Pakistan including textiles, chemical products and engineering goods.
Similarly, he said, Pakistan would like to know the items it can import from Yemen.
He thanked Yemen for extending relief assistance to Pakistan in the wake of October 8 earthquake.
The Yemeni leader welcomed Musharraf and appreciated his statesmanship and decisions in addressing problems facing Pakistan.
Before the formal talks, Musharraf and Ali Abdullah Saleh met exclusively at the Presidential Palace soon after the Pakistani delegation's arrival.
President Musharraf said he looked forward to productive talks between the two sides.
They exchanged views on restructuring the OIC with President Musharraf underscoring that the Muslim countries should adopt the recommendations of the Commission of Eminent Persons in giving a strong voice to the Organisation.
The two leaders discussed fighting extremism and terrorism and expressed the common desire to take forward the existing relations in political and economic fields to new heights.
Earlier, President Musharraf arrived here on Sunday afternoon to a warm welcome. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh received him at the airport.
Musharraf is accompanied by the First Lady, besides Information Minister Sheikh Rashid, Minister of State for Petroleum Nasir Mengal, members of parliament, foreign secretary and senior officials.