President Barack Obama spoke with Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, emphasizing the need to strengthen air cargo security after a global parcel bomb alert, the White House said.

Obama and Saleh discussed joint US-Yemeni cooperation in the fight against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the offshoot of Osama bin Laden’s terror network blamed for the devices found in Dubai and Britain last week.

“The president emphasized the need for Yemen to help reinforce confidence in the cargo air shipment sector through strengthening of security measures,” the White House said in a statement.

Obama also however said it was important for the world to help Yemen to strengthen its cargo security capacity.

“President Saleh made a full commitment to cooperate with the United States as well as with ongoing investigations in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates,” the statement said.

“The president highlighted that the United States relationship with Yemen is focused on counterterrorism issues, as well as building a stable and prosperous Yemen through economic and humanitarian assistance,” the statement said.

Two parcels addressed to Jewish institutions in Chicago and containing the lethal explosive PETN hidden in ink toner cartridges were uncovered Thursday on cargo planes en route to the United States.

Yemen, the ancestral homeland of bin Laden and headquarters of (AQAP), has been under intense pressure from Washington to hunt down radical US-Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi.

Awlaqi was charged on Tuesday in Yemen over alleged ties with Al-Qaeda and incitement to kill foreigners, and is wanted in the United States on terrorism charges.