U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has paid a surprise visit to Yemen as part of a Middle East tour. On Tuesday, Clinton met with President Ali Abdullah Saleh at the presidential palace.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “We face a common threat posed by the terrorists and al-Qaeda, but our partnership goes beyond counterterrorism. We are focused not just on short-term threats, but long-term challenges. Yemen has announced a number of reforms that we in the international community look forward to supporting in the economic, social and political sectors.”

The meeting follows the recent disclosure by WikiLeaks that the U.S. and Saleh’s governments have agreed to cover up the use of U.S. warplanes to bomb Yemen. Clinton is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Yemen in two decades.