KAHMANDU, Dec 3 : Qatar on Monday announced its plans to pull out of OPEC, just days before a crucial meeting between the influential oil cartel and its allies, international media reports said.
Qatar's Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told a news conference Monday that the country would withdraw from OPEC on January 1, 2019, the CNBC news reported. The decision comes after Qatar had reviewed ways in which it could improve its global standing.
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The country's energy minister said the move represents a "technical and strategic" change, Reuters reported, and was not politically motivated.
Qatar has been a member of the Middle East-dominated group for 57 years.
