|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, met yesterday with the President of Equatorial Guinea, HE Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and the Prime Minister, HE Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asue, in the city of Djibloho. The meetings were also attended by the country’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, HE Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, as well as other OPEC officials.
The President welcomed the Secretary General and his accompanying delegation to the Equatorial Guinea and pointed out that this was in fact an historic occasion marking the first time an OPEC Secretary General had ever visited the African nation.
The President then congratulated the Secretary General on his appointment last August and commended him on his tireless efforts to help bring stability back to the global oil market despite the current challenges faced by industry. The President also welcomed the positive face of OPEC which should attract new members like Equatorial Guinea. He ensured the Secretary General of his full support for OPEC and its mission, and urged all Member Countries to remain united and “meet more often to defend our interests.”
The Secretary General expressed his appreciation to the President for his gracious reception of the OPEC delegation and congratulated him on his country’s joining OPEC at its 172nd Meeting of the Conference on 25 May 2017.
The Secretary General briefed the President on the historic decisions taken last year at the 170th (Extraordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference on 28 September 2016 in Algiers and the 171st Meeting of the OPEC Conference on 30 November 2016 in Vienna, which resulted in the unprecedented Declaration of Cooperation with 13 non-OPEC countries, signed on 10 December 2016 in Vienna. Finally, he provided an update on the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), which just concluded its fourth meeting on 24 July 2017 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The Secretary General also commended the President as “the symbol of peace, stability and prosperity” on the African continent.
The Secretary General and his accompanying delegation then met with the Prime Minister, Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asue, who welcomed them on this first-ever OPEC visit to Equatorial Guinea. The Secretary General expressed his deep appreciation to the Prime Minister for the warm hospitality displayed to the OPEC delegation and said it was a great pleasure having this opportunity to visit Equatorial Guinea, OPEC’s newest Member Country
