Saudi to take steps to stabilize oil prices: Ban

ham

 

Ban, who was speaking at a press conference in Jeddah, described his talks with King Abdullah as “very constructive and in-depth,” adding, “We expect the king and his government to take necessary measures to stabilize the price of oil.”

Ban, who is on his second visit to Saudi Arabia since March 2007, described the UN-Saudi cooperation as “very strong.” He said the price of oil has had an impact on all aspects of life, including the soaring price of food, in addition to weakening the UN’s capacity to address climate change issues.

“I have conveyed such concern, the concern expressed by a number of world leaders during the Food Agriculture Organization summit in Rome and I am sure King Abdullah shares the same concern,” he said.

Ban added that the issues of rising food and fuel prices, and climate change should be addressed “comprehensively.” He also expressed hopes that the upcoming Saudi-hosted meeting of oil producers and consumers in Jeddah on June 22 would yield a positive outcome.

The Kingdom decided to convene the meeting after crude struck a record high of nearly $ 140 last week, stoking fears of surging global inflation and weaker economic growth.

“The king also acknowledged that the current oil prices are abnormally high due to speculative factors and he is willing to do what he can to control it,” said Ban, adding that King Abdullah feels there are a number of factors affecting prices and, therefore, there is a need to coordinate efforts with other countries, producers and consumers.

Ban’s visit to Saudi Arabia also comes as Group of Eight finance ministers in Japan warned that high oil and food prices posed “a serious challenge to stable growth worldwide” and may worsen poverty and stoke global inflation.

The UN secretary-general expressed his appreciation for the king’s contribution of SR500 million to the UN’s World Food Program (WFP).

He also spoke to King Abdullah about the burden that high food prices place on less developed countries.

“Failing to address this issue in its totality will lead to undermine our capacity to achieve the millennium development goals and also climate change,” he said.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *