Senior U.S. officials met Monday with Yemeni Defense Minister Major General Muhammad Nasir Ahmad Ali in Washington, D.C. to discuss joint counterterrorism efforts.
The focus of the meeting, U.S. Department of State deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said, was to discuss "mutual concerns about threats from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as Yemeni and U.S. efforts to address these concerns."
U.S. Department of State Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Gerald Feierstein and Deputy Assistant Secretary Barbara Leaf was joined by Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary Tom Kelly and Bureau of Counterterrorism Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Justin Siberell in the meeting with the Yemeni defense minister.
The gathering also presented the opportunity, Harf added, "to reiterate the U.S. commitment to support counterterrorism capacity building for Yemeni security forces as well as support for Yemen's political transition."
Monday's meeting followed the December 2013 U.S.-Yemen Strategic Dialogue aimed at promoting bilateral political-military relations to strengthen Yemen's political and security infrastructures.
[State Department]
