The OPEC + oil deal is an important example of international cooperation that will help stabilize the oil market, said CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.
This deal aims at achieving market stability instead of cutting production, he said.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the Russian-Arab Business Council, which was launched in Moscow on Monday, he said the deal between OPEC members has brought great benefits to both consumers and oil producers.
“It is important to understand that the deal is about policy coordination among OPEC members, which doesn’t only mean cutting production, but also increasing production when necessary,” Dmitriev explained.
“For instance, OPEC + countries took a decision to increase production in June 2018. Given the market’s improving situation and shortage in global stocks, it is very likely that a new decision will be taken to stop the cuts and raise oil outputs this year.”
Output increase would not mean the end of OPEC+ oil market coordination, he stressed, adding that it focuses instead on high-level coordination among its members, depending on the market situation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov opened the 12th session of the Russian-Arab Business Council and Arabia-Expo 2019 exhibition.
Saudi Arabia to part in the event with a delegation from Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) participated, headed by its Chairman, Sami bin Abdullah al-Obaidi, along with a number of businessmen and delegations from several Arab countries.
Discussions focused on increasing cooperation between Russia and Arab countries in many sectors, such as infrastructure, human resources, industry and tourism, in addition to boosting Arab investments in Russia.
During the plenary session, Obaidi highlighted the necessary steps and issues to be addressed to activate the Arab-Russian cooperation relations in the fields of economy, trade and investment.
“We hope Arab-Russian meetings will be able to overcome the obstacles facing bilateral economic relations and work towards finding a more effective framework for cooperation that will allow free trade between the two sides and the entry of Arab products into Russian markets,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Obaidi also said he looks forward to Russia’s efforts to diversify the Arab economic base and create job opportunities, paving the way for the establishment of balanced relations to cope with Arab countries and Russia’s great potentials.
