German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has made a surprise visit to Yemen at the end of his Middle East trip. He held talks with President Saleh and top officials about the security situation in the country in the aftermath of the foiled terror attack on a U.S. airliner.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle landed in the Yemeni capital San'a on Monday morning on a surprise visit. He is the first Western foreign minister to visit Yemen since the failed Christmas Day attack on an American airliner made the impoverished Arab country the focus of world attention.

Westerwelle, the leader of the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), the junior partner to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in Germany's governing coalition, was on a trip to the region and had already visited Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states over the weekend. He was met at the airport by his Yemeni counterpart Abu Bakr al-Qirbi and later held talks with top officials, including President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Although the Yemen trip was not made public due to security concerns, the German Foreign Ministry had informed Germany's allies and partners of Westerwelle's intentions.

According to a member of his delegation, the foreign minister wanted to go to Yemen to get "the feeling on the ground." Westerwelle had already told his hosts in Saudi Arabia that Germany had a great interest in a stable Yemen, so that it would not become a haven for terrorists.