§ Mr. VazTo ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his recent meeting with the President of Yemen. [16471]
§ The Prime MinisterPresident Saleh's visit was the first by a Yemeni president to the UK. We discussed a number of bilateral and regional issues on 11 November, including trade and economic co-operation, UK aid to Yemen, the situation in Iraq, and Yemen's application to join the Commonwealth. I welcomed President Saleh's recent political reforms, and thanked him for the Government of Yemen's help in securing the release of the British hostage who was kidnapped in Yemen last month.