Tehran hosts 26th GECF ministerial meeting

The 26th ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) has kicked off in the Iranian capital Tehran.

News ID: 2000441

EghtesadOnline: The meeting, chaired and hosted by Iran’s Minister of Oil Mohsen Paknezhad, started on Sunday morning.

Out of the GECF 12 member states, six countries have sent their ministers, the rest are taking part at the level of deputy ministers and senior officials.

Also, from among the forum’s eight observer countries, five are present in the Sunday meeting, which includes Mozambique, Mauritania, Senegal, Iraq, and Azerbaijan.

The GECF held expert-level meetings on Saturday and Friday in Tehran as well, with participants discussing the future of the gas market. The GECF Secretary General Mohamed Hamel was among the participants, who attended the extraordinary executive board meeting on Friday.

Iran proposed the formation of the GECF in the late 1990s before the Forum held its first meeting in 2001 in Tehran. Its secretariat is currently based in Qatar.

The GECF countries hold 70% of the world’s proven gas reserves and some 40% of the global gas production. / Mehr