RIYADH, 17 November 2007 — Ministers openly debated yesterday whether oil should continue to be valued in US dollars considering the weakening currency. The topic was raised by the Iranian and Venezuelan delegations to the third OPEC summit beginning in the Saudi capital today.
The foreign ministers left the closed-door session after almost three hours of debate. Sources close to the discussions told Arab News that the currency proposal would not be added to the final communiqué.
Calling the topic “sensitive” and cautioning against hasty decisions, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal warned of the “consequences” of officially tabling such a proposal. He said that such speculation at an OPEC summit could itself further weaken the US currency and hurt the interests of OPEC member states.
“The very announcement to put this case for study could make the dollar descend even further,” said the minister. “Hence, it would add to the problems for our countries.”
Prince Saud added that the topic involves “technical issues” besides oil and that countries that are not OPEC members produce the bulk of the world’s oil.
“We currently represent 40 percent of the oil output,” he said. “The other producing countries... must also have a role regarding the currency they are dealing with.”
The minister suggested that an independent body should take up any study of changing monetary policy with regard to oil. Prince Saud urged ministers to stick to the main points that would be discussed in the final communiqué and requested that any additional proposals be submitted in writing for them to submit in today’s meeting.
The proposal submitted by the Iranian delegation, which had Venezuela’s support, suggests that OPEC member states find ways to defend against a weakening dollar.
But Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Qatar have expressed concern over making this an official topic at the summit.
A record number of journalists, estimated at 900, arrived in Riyadh to cover the summit. A media room has been established at the Intercontinental Hotel, where dozens of journalists were seen yesterday watching the closed-door discussions on a closed-circuit television. About a half-hour into the meeting, a man entered the media center and unplugged the broadcast without explanation.
“This is by far the largest number of journalists who have ever come to the Kingdom at once to cover an event,” Abdullah Al-Maghlouth, head of the media committee, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, told Arab News. “It exceeded the number which arrived to cover the Arab summit,” he added.
According to Al-Maghlouth, especially assigned teams at the Ministry of Petroleum have been working on a 24-hour shift to expedite all efforts for the smooth entry of foreign journalists. A special section has been opened in the ministry to facilitate visa issuance. Over 40 Saudis have been recruited to help and guide foreign journalists.
The Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Information have set up special media centers in the Intercontinental and the Marriot hotels where many press conferences have taken place over the past two days.