Post date: Sep 14, 2010 1:22:4 PM
The Secretary General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Abdalla Salem El-Badri praises his organisation on its 50th anniversary.
VIENNA, AUSTRIA (SEPTEMBER 14, 2010) OPEC POOL - The Secretary General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Abdalla Salem El-Badri, was bullish on the achievements of the his organisation on its 50th anniversary on Tuesday (September 14).
He pointed out three keys areas where he considered OPEC had made major advancements.
"First of all we control our resources. Secondly, we train our manpower. We have a very skilled manpower now. Thirdly, we are able to establish our national companies, which now they control our industry. So when you compare when we established OPEC and the time before it, for us this is a great achievement," he said at a news conference in Vienna.
He said times that he had sat in meetings between warring countries as the most difficult period in OPEC's history.
"The only thing I am really sorry about is the conflict among our members countries at the time. That problem is over and I hope that we will not see it again but it was a sad time. I attended some the meetings you know when we have a conflict between Iraq and Iran and Iraq and Kuwait," he said.
"It's sad but the organisation is very, very strong, it was able to overcome this difficult time and they were able to survive. Remember, OPEC this organisation is the only organisation from the Third World that's been able to survive for fifty years and I hope it will survive for the next 50 years," he added.
He was quick to put down a questioner who suggested that the organisation is open to accusations of running a cartel.
"Have you seen a cartel with a flag on its building? Have you seen a cartel that they have a press conference talking about their activities? Have you seen a cartel that they announce their meeting every time? Have you seen a cartel that they talk to other organisations - publicly, no secret, no deal? You answer me...This is a governmental organisation. It's not a company," he said.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization. It was formed at the Baghdad Conference on September 10-14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The original Founding Members were later joined by nine more Members: Qatar (1961); Indonesia (1962) - which suspended its membership from January 2009; Libya (1962); UAE (1967); Algeria (1969); Nigeria (1971); Ecuador (1973) - suspended its membership from December 1992-October 2007; Angola (2007) and Gabon (1975-1994).
OPEC originally headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland for the first five years it was in operation. It then moved to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965.
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