French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius said on September 20th that he would propose a meeting between representatives of OPEC, the U.S. and the European Union (E.U.) before the OPEC heads of state summit is convened in Caracas on September 27th-28th.
Fabius is expected to announce his proposal for talks at the meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers in Prague on September 23rd.
He indicated that he would like to see an informal gathering with oil producer states before the Caracas summit. U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said on September 20th that President Bill Clinton would have to make the decision regarding whether the U.S. would attend the proposed meeting. "Dialogue is always important. We are in constant touch with producing and consuming countries," Richardson said.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi also said on September 20th that, while he supports dialogue between oil producers and consumers, he doubted whether a meeting between OPEC, the U.S. and the E.U. could be arranged before the heads of state summit takes place.
OPEC ministers and secretariat officials are scheduled to leave for Caracas on September 23rd, and "there is no time to fit in any meetings before the summit," a source at OPEC's Vienna headquarters was quoted as saying.
French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin would like France to raise the issue of escalating oil prices at an E.U. summit in the French town of Biarritz on October 13th -14th.
( oilnavigator )
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
