The ٢٨th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) will be held on Monday, October ٢٥, ٢٠٢٦, in Moscow. This meeting will be attended by Hamid Bourd, the caretaker of the Ministry of Oil of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and a delegation consisting of senior oil industry officials, including Saeed Tavakoli, the CEO of the National Iranian Gas Company, and Seyed Ali-Mohammad Mousavi, the Deputy for International Affairs and Trade of the Ministry of Oil.
The Importance of the Ministerial Meeting for the Islamic Republic of Iran
Ehsaan Taghvinajad, the Director General of OPEC Affairs, Assemblies, and International Organizations of the Ministry of Oil, explained the importance of this meeting, stating that this event is an opportunity to present the views of the Islamic Republic of Iran on geopolitical developments, the future outlook of the natural gas market, and the expansion of cooperation within the framework of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. He emphasized that this meeting is dedicated to reviewing the strategies and policies of the Forum to protect the collective interests of the members and strengthen cooperation in the natural gas industry.
Program of Bilateral Meetings and Major Decision-Making
Taghvinajad regarding the program of bilateral meetings of the caretaker of the Ministry of Oil on the sidelines of this meeting said: "Meeting with the Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum and discussions with several ministers of member countries, including the Minister of Energy of Russia, are included in the plans for this trip." He also mentioned that in this meeting, the documents and agendas of the eighth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, including the summit statement, will be reviewed and finalized.
The eighth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum will also be held on November ١, ٢٠٢٦, in Moscow, and at the end of this meeting, a joint statement regarding the strategies and major policies of the Forum in the field of international energy cooperation will be published.
Preliminary Meetings and the Capabilities of the Forum
Taghvinajad further stated about the preliminary meetings of this event that on November ٢, an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee and the fourth meeting of the high-level committee of the eighth summit will be held with the presence of officials and experts from member countries, the Secretary General of the Forum, and managers and experts from the secretariat. Reviewing and organizing the agendas of the ministerial and summit meetings will be among the main focuses of these meetings.
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum, as one of the intergovernmental frameworks for dialogue and coordination among natural gas producing and exporting countries, has ١٢ main members including Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Observer countries including Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Peru, and Senegal are also present in this forum.
According to announced statistics, member countries collectively hold about ٧٠% of the world's proven natural gas reserves, ٣٨% of commercial gas production, and ٤٢% of global gas exports. Additionally, the share of these countries in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports is estimated to be around ٤٧%.
