Riyadh to host round-table conf. of Asian Energy ministers Wed.

RIYADH, April 30 (KUNA) -- The round-table conference of Asian ministers of energy will kick off here Wednesday with major energy producers and consumers in the continent participating.

Through hosting such a conference, Saudi Arabia shows keenness on pushing forward the concept of common interests among petroleum producing and consuming countries, Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali al-Naimi told reporters here Monday.

The kingdom is working to achieve stability of world oil prices and ensure continued oil supplies for all consumers, he asserted.

It launched dialogue between major oil producing and consuming countries 15 years ago, a process that led to the establishment in November, 2005, of the Riyadh-based General Secretariat of the International Energy Forum (IEF) under the initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz

The conference is discussing the prospects of oil supply and demand in Asia and the prospects of oil production, refining, marketing, trade and investment with emphasis on the role of national and global firms.

It is also dealing with the issues of energy security in Asia and worldwide, effective use of energy, the role of strategic reserves, transparency in energy transactions and variation of energy sources, al-Naimi pointed out.

He noted that the relations between oil-rich Arabian Gulf countries and the Asian oil importing countries were characterized by interdependence.

The minister called for more efforts to strengthen the relations and develop the common interests between the two sides with a view to achieving common economic development, prosperity and integration.

Kuwait is being represented to the event by Minister of Oil Sheikh Ali al-Jarrah al-Sabah along with ministers of oil and economy from China, India, Japan, Iran, Iraq, Republic of Korea, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brunei.

The bi-annual conference also gathers secretaries general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the International Energy Agency (IAE) and IEF.