Riyadh, November 10 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The fourth Summit of South American-Arab Countries, known as ASPA, opens Tuesday in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, where Venezuela and Ecuador present a joint proposal to stabilize the price of oil at around $80 per barrel.

"It cannot be that we produce oil and financial speculators choose the price," said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before leaving Venezuela for Saudi Arabia.

Maduro is attending a two-day meeting along with representatives and heads of governments from the 34 member countries of this bi-regional mechanism for cooperation and political coordination.       

The Venezuelan leader said the proposal was coordinated with his Ecuadorean counterpart, Rafael Correa, and the government of Algeria, which also sent delegates to the summit.        

Since 2014, oil prices have declined significantly, causing serious difficulties for individual commodity exporters as Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil, whose economies are burdened by lack of oil revenue.

Despite calls by some members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reduce production to shore up prices, the bloc has decided not to cut the oil output and stick with its decision to maintain the price of oil below $50 per barrel.    

Venezuela wants the group to establish a price band between $70 and $80 per barrel to ensure oilfield investments and help strengthen the region’s economy.

Last month, the global oil prices climbed to more than $50 per barrel for the first time since July. OPEC says the market will be "more balanced" in 2016. 

ASPA is composed of the 12 countries of the Union of South American Nations and the 22 members of the Arab League. The heads of states summit is held every three years, the first was held in 2005 in Brasilia, Brazil, followed by a second in Doha, Qatar, in 2009.  It was last held in Lima, Peru, in October 2012.