FAREWELL SPEECH OF DR PURNOMO YUSGIANTORO
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources
of the Republic of Indonesia
Delivered by
The Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia for Algeria
During the 151st OPEC Extraordinary Conference
Oran, Algeria, 17 December 2008
Your Excellency President and Chairman of the OPEC Conference,
Excellencies OPEC Ministers,
Your Excellency OPEC Secretary General,
Distinguished Delegates, Ladies & Gentlemen,
Allow me, first of all to convey Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro’s warm regards and apology for not being able to attend this important meeting due to another urgent assignment he received a couple of days before his departure therefore he asked me to represent him. This meeting indeed is a historic one as it will be our last participation as full member. With your consent, Excellency – President of the Conference, I will read Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro’s farewell speech as follows:
Excellencies, my Dear Colleagues,
Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Indonesian delegation, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our host, the Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria for their warm welcome and hospitality extended to my delegation upon their arrival in Algeria, in this beautiful city of Oran.
For us, meeting in Algeria recalled us to our last meeting in Algiers in 2004 that has strengthened our determination to implement the principle aims of OPEC. Indonesia has a distinct honour to be one of the earliest member of OPEC and has numerous opportunities to exercise our membership faithfully for 46 years, as we were admitted to this Organization in 1962, just two years after its creation. Since its admission, Indonesia has been actively contributing to the development of OPEC, particularly in providing petroleum, promoting prosperity and protecting the environment, as stipulated in the Riyadh Declaration of 2007, while we continue ensuring adequately, timely, efficient, economic and reliable petroleum supplies to world markets as stated in our Long-term Strategy adopted in 2005.
However, the declining production capacity parallel to the increasing domestic consumption in Indonesia have turned our country into an oil net importer, after more than 50 years we enjoyed our position as an exporting country. Due to its domestic circumstances, during our Ministerial Ordinary Meeting in Vienna last September, Indonesia requested temporary suspension of its membership. We really appreciate your agreement to that proposal.
Hardly, Indonesia will miss our OPEC “traditions”, namely consultation and dialogue. Indonesia values OPEC as a strategic forum that creates a culture of consultation and dialogue amongst oil stakeholders. And in this juncture, I would assure you that Indonesia under its new status in OPEC in the future will always keep our commitment to extend our cooperation to OPEC such as on exchange of information and petroleum management knowledge or any other areas of cooperation related to petroleum management.
I strongly believe that we would maintain our cordial relations even more strengthened in the future. The unique spirit of friendship among us which nurtured along with the development of OPEC has also contributed to the promotion of bilateral relations among member countries in many other fields, including energy diplomacy, economy, and culture. Therefore, it is our fervent hope that such cordial relationships will be maintained and enhanced in the future, so it will help us also to keep familiar with OPEC’s issues when the time will come for us to rejoin this prestigious Organization.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Finally, I would like to seize this great opportunity to express our highest appreciation and gratitude to all member countries for your kind support, cooperation and friendship. Your cooperation under the framework of OPEC has contributed significantly to the economical development in Indonesia as oil revenue is one of our important resources.
I would also like to convey my sincere thanks to our Secretary General and the entire staff of OPEC Secretariat for their tireless support, facilities, reliable data and timely correspondence. It is indeed a special privilege for me to work with you professionally in carrying out OPEC’s objectives.
Last but not least, Excellency and my dear colleague President and Chairman of the OPEC Conference, I am fully confident that under your esteem leadership, today’s Conference will be fruitful and successful.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Purnomo Yusgiantoro