New Delhi, Jan 12 : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the plenary session of Petro-Tech 2009 here today.

The theme of the conference is "Energy Independence with Global Cooperation: Challenges and Solutions"''.

Countries like Iran, Libya, Sudan and Afghanistan are participating in the conference.

The conference got underway yesterday with the inauguration of an exhibition by Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey.

The conference is focusing on the Indian hydrocarbon industry in the context of global trends. It provides a major platform for presentations and technical papers by experts as well as in-depth discussion and debate on the emerging challenges and opportunities.

The eighth edition of Asia''s largest petroleum exhibition and conference will conclude on January 15. (ANI)