Iraq will mark the 40th anniversary of the creation of OPEC, founded in Baghdad in September 1960, with celebrations and a symposium on September 14th, the official INA news agency reported Monday.
"Iraq has prepared a program that comprises notably a large celebration in Baghdad on September 14th and a symposium on the way the cartel affects oil markets," an oil source told INA.
Iraq is to send a high-ranking delegation "grouping several ministers, undersecretaries and experts to Caracas to take part in all talks due to start September 11th until the cartel's summit" from September 26th-28th, the source added.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited Iraq on August 10th as part of a tour of all OPEC nations to invite their leaders to the Caracas summit, controversially becoming the first head of state to visit Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf War.
Iraq's President Saddam Hussein called on that occasion for OPEC member states to resist US pressure to ensure the success of the summit that sees the cartel meet only for the second time in its 40-year history.
Iraq, which has been under embargo since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, is authorized to export crude oil under the oil-for-food program to finance imports of essential goods under strict UN supervision.
Although an OPEC member, Iraq is exempted from the cartel's production quota system because of the embargo – BAGHDAD (AFP)
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