Ministers of Oil and Energy of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States held here today their 35th meeting chaired by Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Engineer Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Faleh and the participation of the GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani. At the beginning of the meeting, Engineer Al-Faleh delivered a speech in which he welcomed the attendees in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, conveying to them the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. He further said, "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is looking forward to our success in promoting the march of the GCC after he launched an integrated vision including the enhancement of the GCC joint action and stating that we consider our integration into our Gulf surroundings and pushing the GCC joint action at all levels are ones of our most important priorities''. He added that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' supreme vision also aims at enhancing the international status of the GCC and its role in regional and international issues and the completion of the strategic and economic partnerships that benefit the citizens of the GCC's member countries and the region. Engineer Al-Faleh stressed that the importance of the meeting stems from being held at an important stage in the oil market from which we are still suffering its fluctuations and its resulting pressure on the budgets of all the GCC countries and the stability of the spending on ambitious development plans in our countries and we are worried that the sharp decline in oil prices has led to reduce petroleum investments in many countries that may lead the world to opposite crises representing in the lack of supply in the future and may be its subsequent negative effects on the global economy. Moreover, the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources also said the petroleum markets have recently begun moving towards balance, but we, as you know, started within OPEC's member countries and in cooperation with non-OPEC's member countries, intensive consultations to take appropriate procedures to restore balance to it faster and to accelerate the process of recovery in the market, taking into account the growing of oil stocks through the last period. --More
