Tehran, Dec 11 (IANS): Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad was elected as the rotating president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for 2025.

In a press release on its website, OPEC confirmed the election of its president for the upcoming year and thanked Marcel Abeke, Gabon's minister of petroleum, for his leadership as the organisation's rotating president in 2024, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Iran's official news agency IRNA.

According to IRNA, the newly elected OPEC president, Paknejad, emphasised his commitment to using all his capacities to uphold the organisation's consistency, solidarity, and progress.

The OPEC conference has renewed the term of office for Haitham Al Ghais as secretary general for an additional three years, effective August 1, 2025, according to the OPEC press release.

Iran is set to assume the presidency of the organisation on January 1, 2025. The OPEC presidency rotates annually among OPEC member countries.

The OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organisation of 12 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its member countries.