The first conference of African oil and gas ministers concluded on Thursday in Cairo with adoption of a Cairo Declaration which calls for the establishment of an African oil fund to deal with the unexpected emergency, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported.

MENA quoted the declaration as saying that the fund is urgently needed to tackle the consequences of oil price hikes on the African economies.

It recommended the African Development Bank as the administrator of the proposed African oil fund.

Meanwhile, the declaration also highlighted the importance of the inter-African cooperation in the oil industry, calling on the African countries to exploit the oil revenues soundly to help achieve sustainable development in the continent.

Participants of 16 countries and representatives of three international organizations attended the conference, which is co- sponsored by the African Union Commission, the African Bank for Development and the Egyptian Oil Ministry.

Source: Xinhua