Riyadh - Leaders of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC declared at the closing of their Riyadh summit Sunday their commitment to stability in global energy supplies, competitive prices and oil investment boost. The Riyadh Declaration, which was read by the organization's secretary-general, Abdallah al-Badri, stressed the mutual importance of secure demand and supply.
OPEC called for transparency and predictability in consumer countries' energy policies, which would encourage oil producers to invest in new capacity.
The dialogue between oil producers and consumers will be promoted, the declaration said.
The organization said it shared the world's concern with climate change as a long-term challenge and expressed its commitment to using and developing clean fuel technologies, such as carbon capture and storage methods to help reduce carbon emissions.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia said at the opening session his country would give 300 million dollars towards environmental research.
The king has managed to steer the summit clear of demands by price hawks - Iran and Venezuela - to mention the weakness of the dollar in the declaration.
Concern about the falling dollar overshadowed the summit, but OPEC leaders were at loggerheads over how to deal with the issue of the US currency, which has dropped 16 per cent in 2007 against a basket of key currencies.
Iran and Venezuela argued that a rapidly falling dollar justified higher oil prices.
But Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal warned the gathering that the mere mention of the dollar in the closing declaration could cause it to collapse.
The summit did not take any decision on short-term production levels, deferring the issue to the next ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi on December 5.
