The landmark ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ reached last year by the 14 member countries of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) with the 10 non-Opec states underlined the shared resolve they all had in achieving an accelerated realignment of global oil supply and demand at a time of critical importance, according to an Opec publication.

Both Opec and non-Opec producers on November 30 reached an agreement to further extend oil output cuts until the end of 2018.

''With this 'Declaration’, the 24 producers upheld their responsibility for oil market stability in the interest of all oil producing and consuming countries," said the special edition of the Opec Bulletin.

"Their monumentally-significant decision, taken after extensive rounds of consultations in order to address the prevailing market realities at the time, were considered to be much more than just a short-term ‘fix’; they were seen as essential in the medium- and long-term as well," it stated.

"As a result, the 'Declaration' demonstrated and even exemplified a commitment to the global community in shared efforts to restore and sustain market stability with positive and broad implications for the world economy, the oil industry and oil producing countries,'' it added.

According to Opec, the 'Declaration' was not only historic in itself but also a noteworthy achievement on so many other levels: It is the first production adjustment since Oran 2008 and also it is the first time that participating non-Opec countries are committed to a joint agreement for production adjustment.

"It allows for Iraq to be effectively part of the production management for the first time since 1998,'' stated the Vienna-based organization in the special edition.

Despite sources of uncertainty and the different kinds of challenges they represented, the Opec bulletin noted that the 24 signatories of the Declaration found ways to see beyond parochial concerns and view the problem together, collectively, with the aim of finding a way forward that might benefit all of them as well as the world as a whole.

''They managed to rise to the occasion, amid extensive consultations and multiple rounds of shuttle diplomacy, and produced an extraordinary action that has changed the course of history," said the Opec experts in the bulletin.

"While we are still looking forward to the continuing implementation of the market rebalancing long sought by so many, the progress made in the year has been remarkable" it stated.

''Furthermore, the relationships built and the ties made have been exemplary and they are now serving as a model of how to tackle other problems in the future,'' the bulletin added.-TradeArabia News Service