In the opening address, he said "today's extraordinary meeting is the result of a decision taken when the conference last met, in Kuwait on 12 December, and its purpose is to review the current market situation and take the appropriate decision on production levels for the second and third quarters of the year. "It has become the practice since a few years ago to hold Extraordinary Meetings between our two biannual ordinary meetings, scheduled for March and September, this is to ensure that our organization remains abreast of developments in the oil market at all times and that we can fine tune our production commitments in accordance with the shifting realities of the market, as well as respond effectively, even at short notice to any unexpected events as they arise, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita late last summer. "As we meet today, there is continued price volatility in the market and clearly, we shall be addressing this issue once again, focussing on the outlook for the coming months. We have throughout of 45-year history, maintained that volatility is not in the interest of long-term players in the oil market. All producers - OPEC and non-OPEC as well as consumers and the major oil companies must, therefore, do everything they can to stabilize the market. "This is something OPEC cannot tackle alone. All parties benefit from stability, and, therefore, all parties must contribute to its achievement. "Early indications suggest that the world economy will perform well in the first half of 2006; indeed, the forecast for world GDP growth for the whole of this year has already been increased slightly, reflecting improved expectations for Europe, Japan and China, though risks remain visible on global financial imbalances, and higher interests rates, particularly in the US. "With substantial increases expected in non-OPEC supply during the year and with OPEC production already at much higher levels than current demand, it is clear we are fairly confident about the market outlook for the year. "But, as we have seen, in particular, over the past two years, nothing can be taken for granted. This is why we are meeting today to take a good hard look at the fundamentals and the likely challenges and pressure points for the year. We remain totally committed to market stability with prices at reasonable and sustainable levels. "We firmly recognize the importance of a stable orderly oil market to world economic growth, long term investment, and the advancement of global prosperity. "We are encouraged by some important developments that took place last year and these relate to the energy dialogues OPEC entered into with key markets," he concluded. PIN/IRNA