Four new countries consulted to join OPEC so far, says Secretary-General

Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), revealed that the organisation's aspirations to increase the number of member states, as Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Brunei and Mexico have been consulted so far to join the organisation.

In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), on the sidelines of the 8th OPEC International Seminar which kicked off today in Vienna, Al Ghais said that consultations with new countries from outside the organisation contribute to strengthening the cohesion of OPEC, indicating that the organisation does not aim to join a certain number of countries, but targeting countries that have the same strategic objectives of preserving and stabilising oil markets.

The OPEC Secretary-General noted that the four countries that were consulted have been in solidarity with the organisation since 2017, adding that "they have gone through qualitative challenges during the collapse of the markets and the pandemic in 2020, and therefore all of these countries have the common goal that is in the interest of stabilising the oil markets."