His Majesty King Abdullah and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Sunday held talks that focused on bilateral ties and regional developments, particularly the Israeli military escalation in the Palestinian territories.

The King and Saleh warned that such developments threaten regional security and stability - which necessitates continued international efforts to help end Israel's aggression and economic siege imposed on the Palestinians.

The two leaders called for reviving the peace process and resuming Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, based on the two-state solution.

On Iraq, the two sides said they supported government efforts to achieve national reconciliation, restore security and stability and preserve territorial integrity.

At the bilateral level, King Abdullah and the president reviewed joint Jordanian-Yemeni ventures, including an Eden-based university staffed and run by a Jordanian team and a previously agreed on maritime transport company designed to facilitate the entry of Yemeni agricultural products into the EU market.

They also discussed progress in the Red Sea Fishing Company, set up by the King Abdullah II Fund for Development on the Yemeni territorial waters to help create jobs for Jordanian fishermen.

Trade balance between the two countries, which stood at $35.5 million last year, was to the favour of Jordan. Last year, Jordan exported to Yemen goods worth $31.7 million, while the Kingdom's exports in the first quarter of this year stood at $6.6 million.

There are around 3,000 Yemeni students at Jordanian universities and 1,000 Jordanian students at Yemeni colleges.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Qurbi said after the meeting talks between the King and the Yemeni president came at a crucial time, when the region was undergoing a complicated situation, especially in the Palestinian territories and Iraq.

The Jordan Times