Vienna, Austria, 2 March 2021--The Joint Technical Committee (JTC) held its 49th meeting via videoconference in preparation for the 27th Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) and the 14th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting (ONOMM) scheduled for Wednesday, 3 March 2021, and Thursday, 4 March 2021, respectively. HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General, highlighted the improving outlook for the global oil market and the world economy at large, emphasizing the need to stay the course on restoring sustainable oil market stability. “Both the global economic outlook and oil market prospects show signs of continued improvement,” Barkindo said, adding, “We have come a long way from a year ago. The days of GDP and oil demand figures being in the red because of the pandemic-induced shock appear to be behind us.” On the global oil market outlook for 2021, Barkindo said: “Oil demand remains on course to grow by 5.8 mb/d to around 96 mb/d,” adding, “The encouraging global economic developments and resilient demand in Asia are upside factors.” Yet given continued uncertainties, he said: “We must emphasize in strong terms: cautious optimism, cautious optimism, cautious optimism.” “In our lifetime, we have witnessed seven oil cycles,” he said in his remarks. “We have also seen humans walk on the moon; old rivals on Earth work side-by-side in space; and growing numbers of countries working to expand humanity’s reach to other planets. I am proud to say that one of the newest countries joining the exploration of space is an OPEC Member Country, the United Arab Emirates.” He continued: “As the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) participants carry on with the unfinished business of helping to restore sustainable market stability for one of our planet’s most precious commodities, it is important that we continue to work together for the sake of this noble cause. Achieving our goals remains of mutual benefit to participating countries, as well as consumers and the global economy.” But he stressed that the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose downside risks to the recovery, citing data showing that new global infections rose in the last week of February for the first time in seven weeks. “Progress on COVID-19 vaccinations continues in many countries, but the current pace shows that many developing countries risk being left behind. We hold out hope that the multilateral and multiparty efforts will support inclusive and speedy worldwide access to inoculations,” he said.