ID :
184042
Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/184042
The shortlink copeid
Official: Iranian Minister to Preside over Next OPEC Meeting
TEHRAN (FNA)- An Iranian Oil Ministry official ended weeks of media speculations about the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the next ministerial meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, saying that a cabinet minister, and not Ahmadinejad, will chair the OPEC gathering.
"In a face-to-face meeting with President Ahmadinejad, he announced that he would not attend the next OPEC meeting," Iranian Oil Ministry Director Shojaoddin Bazargani said on Monday.
Bazargani added that a cabinet minister would be selected to represent Iran at the next OPEC meeting and the European Union-OPEC joint session.
The next OPEC ministerial meeting will be held in the Austrian capital Vienna on June 8.
Iran, OPEC's second largest crude exporter, currently holds the presidency of the cartel, a position it is holding for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Earlier this week, Ahmadinejad said he has temporarily assumed the duties of the oil ministry as the cabinet is experiencing mergers of several ministries.
"For now, I myself am the caretaker of the oil ministry," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech late Sunday.
On Saturday, Ahmadinejad dismissed oil minister Massoud Mir-Kazzemi, alongside two other ministers, whose portfolios are expected to be merged with other departments as part of a cabinet streamlining.
Then on Sunday, he appointed caretakers for the industry and social affairs ministries, but did not name anyone for the oil ministry which was yet to be officially integrated with the energy portfolio.
His decision to take charge of Iran's most-strategic sector came shortly before the 159th OPEC meeting, where the oil producers are represented by their ministers.
"In a face-to-face meeting with President Ahmadinejad, he announced that he would not attend the next OPEC meeting," Iranian Oil Ministry Director Shojaoddin Bazargani said on Monday.
Bazargani added that a cabinet minister would be selected to represent Iran at the next OPEC meeting and the European Union-OPEC joint session.
The next OPEC ministerial meeting will be held in the Austrian capital Vienna on June 8.
Iran, OPEC's second largest crude exporter, currently holds the presidency of the cartel, a position it is holding for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Earlier this week, Ahmadinejad said he has temporarily assumed the duties of the oil ministry as the cabinet is experiencing mergers of several ministries.
"For now, I myself am the caretaker of the oil ministry," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech late Sunday.
On Saturday, Ahmadinejad dismissed oil minister Massoud Mir-Kazzemi, alongside two other ministers, whose portfolios are expected to be merged with other departments as part of a cabinet streamlining.
Then on Sunday, he appointed caretakers for the industry and social affairs ministries, but did not name anyone for the oil ministry which was yet to be officially integrated with the energy portfolio.
His decision to take charge of Iran's most-strategic sector came shortly before the 159th OPEC meeting, where the oil producers are represented by their ministers.
