OREANDA-NEWS. August 26, 2016. OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, received HE Rachmat Budiman, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia, at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria.

During the meeting, Mr Budiman, on behalf of his government, congratulated Mr Barkindo on being selected as Secretary General of OPEC and conveyed Indonesia’s full support for him in his new role leading the Organization.

Mr Barkindo expressed his appreciation for the visit and for Indonesia’s strong support for OPEC through the years. He said that its return to the Organization at the beginning of 2016 was welcomed and added that Indonesia, in concert with Nigeria and Venezuela, had historically played a key role in promoting cohesion within the group of Member Countries, at times helping them reach consensus on challenging issues.

Regarding the oil market outlook, Mr Barkindo remarked that he was optimistic despite the current challenges driven by a persistently low oil price environment. He said that all eyes were on OPEC to address the situation and that the Organization, as always, was working hard to re-establish equilibrium in the market. This stability, he reiterated, was in the interest not only of producers, but consumers as well. He stated that the upcoming International Energy Forum Ministerial Meeting, to be held in Algiers on 26-27 September, would be an ideal occasion for OPEC’s Member Countries to discuss the market situation and evaluate potential action. In this regard, he invited Indonesia to take a proactive role in consulting with fellow Member Countries in the lead-up to the IEF event to help set the stage for a fruitful meeting.

Mr Budiman responded that he would duly convey this message to the appropriate officials in his government and that OPEC could rest assured that, as in the past, Indonesia would lend its full support to the Organization as regards the upcoming Algiers meeting as well with all its other, future endeavours.

The meeting concluded with Mr Barkindo inquiring about Dr Subroto, the esteemed former OPEC Secretary General from Indonesia, who headed up the Organization from 1988 to 1994 and served as President of the Conference from 1984 to 1985. He offered his best wishes to Dr Subroto, who he described as an intelligent, highly knowledgeable, humble and hard-working man, and expressed his desire to visit him in the future to pay his respects.