OPEC+ countries meet for the first time in Baku at the initiative of the President of Azerbaijan

14 oil countries and OPEC Secretariat will be represented at high level at the 13th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of OPEC and non- OPEC countries to be held in Baku on March 18. This event takes place on the proposal of Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host meetings of OPEC and Non-OPEC countries in Baku. Acceptance of this proposal is an indicator of appreciation given to the energy policy of the President of Azerbaijan who for the first time came up with an initiative of creating OPEC+ format to better regulate oil market. In Davos Forum held in January of 2016, the President of Azerbaijan proposed such a cooperation initiative in order to achieve price stability and expressed his confidence that a progress could be made in achieving reduction in the production should there will be a better coordination among large producers of OPEC and non- OPEC countries.

Azerbaijan continues its active role within the OPEC+ format to achieve preservation of balance and price stability in the oil market, and contributes to oil market regulation process by hosting events held in this format.

It is worth emphasizing that along with the OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo, the 13^th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) will be attended by Manuel Quevedo Fernandez, OPEC President, Venezuelan Oil Minister and President of State Oil Company, Khaled Abdulaziz Al Falih, Chairman of JMMC and Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy, Industry and Natural Resources. The meeting will also be attended by ministers and high level delegations from OPEC members, such as Algeria, UAE, Iraq, Nigeria, Congo, and from non-OPEC members, such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Bahrain and Brunei.

Parviz Shahbazov, Energy Minister of Azerbaijan, Khaled Abdulaziz Al-Falih, Chairman of the Joint Monitoring Committee, OPEC President Manuel Quevedo Fernandez and OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo are expected to make welcome speeches at the meeting.

The meeting will be followed by OPEC’s presentation prepared on the basis of the analysis of the market growth rate and the presentation of the Joint Technical Commission’s report on production indicators for February.

A press conference will be held to offer insight into the outcomes of the meeting. Over 20 foreign and about 180 local media outlets have been registered to provide coverage of the event.

It is worth emphasizing that the 27th meeting of the Joint Technical Commission (JTC) will also be held in Baku on March 17, a day before the Joint Monitoring Committee meeting.