Conference President, other dignitaries meet OPEC Secretary General in Algiers

Algiers, Algeria, 26 September 2016--OPEC Conference President, HE Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, met with OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, at the OPEC Secretariat offices at the International Convention Centre in Algiers on Sunday.

HE Al-Sada, who is Qatar’s Energy and Industry Minister, was joined in the visit to the Secretary General at the newly opened Convention Centre by Algeria’s Energy Minister, HE Noureddine Boutarfa.

Algeria is hosting the 15th Ministerial Meeting of the International Energy Forum (IEF), which begins in earnest on September 27.

After closed-door talks with the Secretary General, the two Ministers addressed staff of the OPEC Secretariat attending the gathering, praising their level of professionalism and the overall quality of the work of the Secretariat in Vienna, Austria.

The Ministers later toured the impressive Convention Centre to inspect the state-of-the-art facilities.

OPEC Petroleum and Energy Ministers have been arriving in the Algerian capital to attend the IEF Meeting, which brings producers and consumers together to discuss energy market conditions.

OPEC Ministers are also due to hold informal talks scheduled for September 28, at which they will discuss the current oil market situation.

HE Barkindo has been meeting with high-ranking OPEC officials and other dignitaries soon after they arrive in Algiers.

Prior to his talks with HE Al-Sada and HE Boutarfa, HE Barkindo met with the Secretary General of the IEF, Dr. Sun Xiansheng, who was accompanied by his management team, to discuss details of the IEF Conference, including the Meeting of the Heads of JODI Partner Organizations on September 26 at the Sheraton Hotel in Algiers.

The OPEC Secretary General is also due today to meet his counterpart at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), HE Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli, as well as later the Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, HE Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu.

The OPEC Secretary General, together with the Conference President, HE Dr. Mohammed Al-Sada, and the host, HE Noureddine Boutarfa, are also due to confer with several other Heads of Delegation, including HE Alexander Novak, Russia’s Energy Minister, HE Khalid A. Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, HE Eng. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Minister of Petroleum of I.R. Iran, and HE Eng. Eulogio Del Pino, Venezuela's People's Minister of Petroleum and Mining, as well as other dignitaries attending the IEF Ministerial.

Well over 400 delegates from 54 countries are expected to participate in the IEF Ministerial, which will run until September 28.

In total, around 900 participants are expected to converge on the Convention Centre, which was inaugurated by Algerian President, HE Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and Prime Minister, HE Abdelmalek Sellal, in early September.

The massive complex, which covers an area of 230,000 square metres, is the largest convention centre in North Africa. It comprises a 6,000-seat lecture hall, a 15,000 square metre exhibition hall, a multifunctional press conference hall, and a dedicated area for heads of state, as well as many auxiliary buildings.