Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that it is
necessary to replace US dollar with other major hard currencies in
oil trading.
Ahmadinejad made the remarks at a news conference in the third
summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC)
in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
"There should be a credible and good currency to take over US
dollar's role and to serve oil trades," he said.
Oil producing countries are not benefited much from the current
oil prices, said he, attributing it to the devaluation of US dollar
and the high taxation imposed by western banks.
"The money had come to a handful of super-rich capitalist," he
said, calling for the establishment of a specialized bank named
"OPEC bank" to safeguard the interest of OPEC member states in the
oil trading.
Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President, firstly put forward the idea
of "OPEC bank" in the summit's opening speech on Saturday, saying
that OPEC can make research of new resources and seek more
cooperation to reduce the climate changes.
Regarding the Gulf situation, Ahmadinejad ruled out the
possibility of a new war in the region, saying that if any power
did it, it would commit huge mistakes and would be unable to manage
the war.
He then said that Iran and the neighboring Gulf countries share
the same culture and have friendship, and Iran would consult with
other Arab nations on a plan to enrich uranium in a neutral
country.
Ahmadinejad arrived in Riyadh Friday to attend the OPEC summit,
which ended on Sunday night with the issue of Riyadh
Declaration.
(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2007)
