SANA, Dec 4: 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.

The two leaders said both the countries should cooperate and coordinate in the field of intelligence in fighting the menace of terrorism.

They agreed that Muslim leaders should strive for reforming the OIC, 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 President Musharraf, who is the first Pakistani leader to visit Yemen in 15 years.

He proposed mandatory contribution by member states to raise a fund for advancing Muslim countries in the field of science and technology.

He said the Muslim states should take actions to address problems within their territory and coordinate 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 the October 8 earthquake.

The Yemeni leader praised President Musharraf’s statesmanship and his role in addressing problems facing Pakistan.

He also lauded his pivotal role in the fight against terrorism.

Mr Saleh said Yemen would like to bolster its relations with Pakistan in the cultural, economic and security fields.

He said the Yemeni government’s employees donated their one-day salary to the relief efforts being mounted in Pakistan in the aftermath of the tragedy, “which reflected strong ties between the two people”.

The Pakistani delegation included Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Minister of State for Petroleum Muhammad Naseer Mengal, and senior aides. —APP