High oil prices a ‘burden’ on global economy: Paulson
(WASHINGTON) Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will tell officials of Saudi Arabia and other Middle East oil producing nations that soaring oil prices are putting a ’significant burden’ on the global economy, a senior Treasury official said on Wednesday.
David McCormick, Treasury’s undersecretary for international affairs, said that Mr Paulson in an upcoming trip will be promoting increased foreign investment in oil production as a way of boosting supplies.
‘The key message that he will highlight is that record high oil prices are putting a significant burden on the global economy. They are also putting a significant burden on families and consumers, not just in the United States, but around the world,’ Mr McCormick said in a briefing to preview Mr Paulson’s weekend trip.
Mr McCormick said Mr Paulson would be urging ‘all countries to open up their oil markets to investment that boosts yields, exploration and production’.
He said that message would not be aimed at any specific country but to all oil producing nations because a significant number of them are ‘walled off to private investment’.
Mr Paulson will not make any specific request for nations to boost their production during the current period of soaring oil prices, Mr McCormick said.
On a trip to the Middle East earlier this month, President George W Bush said that a modest oil production increase by Saudi Arabia ‘doesn’t solve our problem’ because the United States must take its own actions in the energy area.
Mr Paulson’s first stop will be in Saudi Arabia for talks tomorrow with government officials and private sector investors.
He will also visit Qatar and Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. He will deliver a major speech on the importance of open investment policies on Monday in Abu Dhabi.
While in Abu Dhabi, Mr Paulson will have a series of meetings with officials from large government investment funds, known as sovereign wealth funds. — AP
Source : Business Times - 30 May 2008
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