VIENNA: Four countries have been consulted to join the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), its Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais said.
The four countries are Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Brunei and Mexico.
In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), on the sidelines of the 8th Opec International Seminar which kicked off in Vienna Wednesday, Al Ghais said that consultations with the new countries would contribute to strengthening the cohesion of Opec.
He said Opec hoped to increase the number of its member states to countries that have the same strategic objectives of preserving and stabilising oil markets.
The Opec Secretary-General noted that the four countries that were consulted have been in solidarity with the organisation since 2017, adding that "they have gone through qualitative challenges during the collapse of the markets and the pandemic in 2020, and therefore all of these countries have the common goal that is in the interest of stabilising the oil markets".
The organisation currently has 13 member countries. - Bernama-WAM
