ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister MelesZenawi on Saturday held talks with visiting Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed on ways of strengthening bilateral relations between the two Horn of Africa countries.

    Meles and Yusuf have expressed desire to maintain strong relations between their countries, according to a senior government official who attended the talks.

    The two sides have also discussed on various issues of mutual interest in which the two countries had signed bilateral agreements earlier, the official said.

    Yusuf told journalists after their talks that the discussion he held with Meles was cordial and comprehensive that it would pave the way for strengthening the ties between the two countries and to work closely in all spheres.

    The Somali president said the discussion would help ensure the common benefits of the peoples of the two countries, and further consolidate the already existing strong ties between the two peoples.

    Yusuf was in Ethiopia on a working visit. He will meet with other Ethiopian officials on issues of common interest and regional affairs.

    Somalia, the Horn of Africa nation, has had no functioning central government since 1991.

    Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed relocated from Kenya in June last year and have been based in the provincial town of Jowhar, after deciding the capital Mogadishu -- controlled by warlords -- was too unsafe to act as a seat of government. Enditem