​Mr. Al-Khairalla conveyed congratulations on behalf of the Iraqi government to Mr. Barkindo for his new position as OPEC Secretary General and expressed his country’s support for his work. Iraq “will be supporting you all the time”, he said.

​The Secretary General said he was very grateful for Iraq’s strong support. He recognized the close relationship the country has had with the Organization, noting that OPEC was ‘born’ in the city of Baghdad in 1960, and said he looked forward to continuing collaboration with Iraq.

​The Secretary General recalled that over the years, OPEC has been able to successfully overcome the challenges of the oil and gas industry through close collaboration among all Member Countries.  The world’s attention is on OPEC, he said, waiting to see what it will do next. “So we have to rise to the occasion”.

​The two officials discussed numerous other issues. These included the idea of inviting other countries to join the Organization, and the possibility of working more closely with the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.

​The Secretary General also asked Mr. Al-Khairalla to convey his congratulations to HE Jabar Ali al-Luaibi, Iraq’s new Minister of Oil, saying he looked forward to working with him.​​