TEHRAN – Iranian Oil Ministry on Monday held a coordination meeting to discuss the preparations for the 26th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) which is due to be held in Tehran in late October.

As Shana reported, the meeting was attended by senior officials including GECF Secretary General Mohamed Hamel and Iranian Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs Ahmad Asadzadeh.

In this meeting, the necessary preparations for holding the meeting on October 27-29 were reviewed.

As of next week, weekly coordination meetings will be held until the summit day.

Iran was elected as the next host of the GECF Ministerial Meeting during the 7th GECF Summit attended by Iran’s former Oil Minister Javad Oji in Algiers, the capital of Algeria.

The Islamic Republic will also host the 8th Gas Exporting Countries Forum Summit of Heads of State and Government in 2027.

Based on an initial proposal made by Iran, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum was established by Iran, Russia, Qatar, and other gas-exporting states on December 23, 2008.

Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the UAE, and Venezuela are GECF members and Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, and Peru hold the status of observers.

With its current number of member states, the GECF enjoys a dominant position in global energy markets and among international energy organizations. Together, they represent 69 percent of the world’s gas reserves, 39 percent of the marketed production, and 40 percent of global gas exports. Moreover, GECF member countries collectively account for more than half of the world's liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports (51 percent).

Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, hosted the 25th GECF Ministerial Meeting on October 10, 2023.

EF/MA