Jeddah, (IINA) – The annual meeting of Gulf oil ministers will be held this week in Qatar, in the first gathering by the heavyweight crude oil producers since the latest slide in oil prices, Reuters reported.

But since the price drop is not on the agenda for the scheduled meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), it will be a chance for oil ministers to air views on the market.

Analysts are eager to hear the comments of Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi as the oil minister of the world’s top crude exporter has made no public comment on prices since June 18, when the oil price was above $63 a barrel. Naimi said then that he was optimistic about the market in coming months.

Oil prices have more than halved since peaks hit in summer last year due to abundant supplies and a policy change by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to defend market share and discourage competing supply from rival producers, rather than cut its own output. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies led the policy shift.

Last month, prices sank to a more than six-year low near $42 a barrel, due to concern about the world’s largest energy consumer China’s economy and the persistent oil glut.

The latest fall has intensified calls by some members of OPEC for an emergency meeting. Top Gulf OPEC producers’ policymakers have remained publicly silent since they met last in June.

“The Doha meeting is central given what the international petroleum industry is going through from volatility and to push towards stability,” Kuwait’s oil ministry tweeted in a statement on Monday.