News

His Excellency the Minister of State and Chairman of the National Oil & Gas Authority, Dr. Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza, presided over Bahrain’s delegation to the International Energy Forum (IEF) which was held in the Qatari Capital,Doha, from 22nd to 24th April 2006, under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar. Held under the theme of “Fulfilling the Future: Energy Security, a Shared Responsibility”, the forum was preceded by the 2nd International Energy Business Forum (IEBF); the first IEBF was held in Amsterdam in 2004. The IEF was attended by ministers from 86 countries and members of OPEC and 40 chief executive officers of leading energy companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Saudi Aramco. More than 600 participants attended the forum.

During the forum’s four sessions, the participants discussed a wide range of issues related to energy resources and markets, investments in the energy sector, improved framework of co-operation and the real reasons for the price fluctuation from 2003. Doha is the second Arab capital to host IEF after the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The Doha meeting was the 10th IEF in a series of international biennial forums held between the oil producing and the oil consuming countries.