SANAA, (AFP) - Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad ended a four-day visit to Yemen yesterday focussing on the development of economic cooperation, notably in the fields of trade and oil.

"We have discussed with Yemeni officials cooperation in the economic and trade fields as well as the sectors of oil and industry", Mahathir told the press before leaving the country.

He said his country was primarily interested in "oil prospection and the development of the oil industry in Yemen".

Mahathir, who led a large Malaysian business delegation, also said Malaysia was considering using the southern Yemeni port of Aden as a "centre for the redistribution of Malaysian products in east African countries and the Arab world".

"We definitely intend to increase economic exchanges between Malaysia and Yemen by buying more Yemeni products and strengthening our trade cooperation", he added.

Mixed ministerial committee

Both countries also agreed to set up a mixed ministerial committee, chaired by the two foreign ministers, and set to meet once a year to follow up on the various aspects of cooperation.

Mahathir met Thursday with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who said he was "in favour of Malaysian investment in Yemen in the fields of oil, gas and tourism".

Yemen recently announced its intention to sign prospection deals with foreign oil companies in order to double its output to one million barrels per day and increase its reserves.

A member of the Malaysian delegation told AFP that trade between the two countries reached US$85million in 2000.

The balance weighed heavily in favour of Malaysia, with US$68million worth of exports, while Yemeni exports to Kuala Lumpur only amount to US$17million.