Commander of the U.S. Central Command James Mattis has arrived on a visit to Yemen that aims to better understand the Yemeni viewpoint on local and regional issues as well as various security issues.

The visit is the Commander's first to the country and comes within his tour that includes stops in some regional states.

He discussed with Yemeni officials the issues of mutual security cooperation and others issues of mutual interest.

At meetings, Mattis praised the Yemeni success in organizing the 20th Gulf soccer championship through November 22 to December 05 in Aden and Abyan provinces.