BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.7
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Azerbaijan has played a leading role in the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) since its inception at the end of 2016, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary General of OPEC, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
“In fact, at the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev initially proposed the idea of advancing oil market coordination between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producing countries to help address the severe downturn in the oil market from 2014-2016. He was the first Head of State to give his backing to such an innovative and forward-looking proposal. President Aliyev was ahead of the curve, and we returned to his wisdom when 24 oil producing nations, including Azerbaijan, agreed at the first OPEC non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on 10 December 2016 in Vienna, on a concerted effort to accelerate the stabilization of the global oil market through voluntary production adjustments,” said OPEC’s secretary general.
He noted that since then, Azerbaijan has been at the forefront of our endeavours, including graciously hosted a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee in March 2019.
“This was a pilgrimage for all of us that attended given Azerbaijan’s unique role in the history of the oil industry. Baku is the site of the first oil well for exploration that was drilled in 1846: a 21 metre well drilled in Bibi-Heybat. I have personally had the great honour of meeting President Aliyev on many occasions, as well HE Parviz Shahbazov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Industry and Energy, who has been a key factor and voice in the decisions we have taken. His astute leadership and sophisticated diplomatic skills have been vital to the DoC. I would also like to take the opportunity to remember the late Energy Minister HE Natiq Aliyev who was instrumental in the discussions that led to the DoC at the end of 2016.
At OPEC, we are extremely grateful for the robust support and excellent contributions of Azerbaijan, and we look forward to continuing to work very closely with the country, as we move forward to enhance this historic framework of cooperation,” added Barkindo.
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