JEDDAH, 20 November 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah said yesterday that the third OPEC summit in Riyadh had been a resounding success in terms of participation and results. “A spirit of brotherhood and cooperation prevailed during discussions at the conference,” he added.
Addressing the weekly Council of Ministers at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, King Abdullah said the summit had emphasized that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would continue its efforts to stabilize the international market.
The Cabinet meeting also approved the new board of directors of the Saudi Capital Market Company (Tadawul) for a three-year term. The board members are: Mansour Al-Maiman from the Finance Ministry, Abdullah Al-Hamoudi from the Commerce and Industry Ministry, Abdul Rahman Al-Humaidi from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Dr. Fahd Al-Mubarak, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Ahmed Al-Aulaqi, Abdul Rahman Al-Yahya (from licensed brokers), Saud Al-Dowaish and Taha Al-Quwaiz (from joint stock companies).
The king said the summit backed the idea that oil must be used as a means of building and construction and not for fueling conflicts and disputes.
King Abdullah, who presided over the summit at the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, stressed Saudi Arabia’s readiness to build bridges of dialogue between oil consuming and oil producing countries.
“Both producers and consumers must shoulder their responsibilities toward developing countries and fighting poverty,” the king said. OPEC established a fund for international development 30 years ago, benefiting people in over 120 countries.
In his opening address to the summit, King Abdullah announced the establishment of another international fund to tackle global warming and a Saudi contribution of $300 million to the venture. Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE pledged $150 million each bringing the fund’s capital to $750 million.
The summit was successful for its high-level participation as the heads of state of 11 countries of the 13-member group took part. Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Nigeria’s Umaru Yar’Adua, Iraq’s Jalal Talabani and Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika were present.
Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said during the Cabinet meeting that King Abdullah had briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas.
The talks focused on the Middle East peace conference to be held in Annapolis later this month and efforts to bring about a just and comprehensive peace settlement, protecting the rights of Palestinians.
Crown Prince Sultan briefed the Cabinet on the decisions taken by the Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council, which was held in Riyadh last week. The meeting saw the signing of 17 agreements to strengthen cooperation between the two Arab neighbors in economic, educational, agricultural, fisheries and other fields.
The Cabinet expressed its condolences on the deaths and destruction caused by a devastating cyclone in Bangladesh last week. King Abdullah has ordered emergency aid of $100 million for the cyclone victims.
Madani said the Cabinet had approved the memorandum of understanding signed with Russia to enhance cultural cooperation. Under the accord, the two countries will hold cultural weeks and book and art exhibitions and participate in cultural festivals.
The meeting authorized the minister of labor or his deputy to hold talks with their French counterparts for signing an agreement to promote cooperation in technical and vocational training.
The Cabinet appointed Abdullah ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Aamir, director general of water in the Eastern Province, Ahmed Mohammed Al-Khuwaiter, legal adviser at the Finance Ministry, and Dr. Yousuf Abdullah Al-Wabil, assistant undersecretary for services at the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques Affairs.
