Cairo: The Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) ministerial council has hailed the outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP18), which took place in Doha from November 26 to December 8.
In the final statement of OAPEC’s 89th session, which took place in Cairo, the council congratulated Qatar on the successful hosting and presidency of COP18, expressing support for the Doha Gateway declaration.
The statement recommended that the general secretariat would push ahead with efforts to follow up on the climate change and sustainable development negotiations, and continue its role in coordinating between member states so as to keep their petroleum interests.
The 89th meeting had discussed the activities of the general secretariat in 2012, the technical and economic studies it worked on, preparations for the 10th Arab Energy Conference, scheduled to take place in 2014 in Lebanon, in addition to following up on the environment and climate change issues in the light of the United Nations Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.
The meeting also agreed to convene next in Doha in December 2013, and that Saudi Arabia would take over presidency of the next session of the ministerial council and the executive bureau starting 2013.
Petroleum ministers from eight Arab countries -- Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, UAE, Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Libya, along with OAPEC’s Secretary General Abbas Ali Al Naqi took part in the meeting. QNA
