Iran’s Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian and Algerian Energy Minister Salah Khebri in Algiers on Monday underlined importance of mutual cooperation, including cooperation in water and electricity sectors.
Chitchian is in Algiers to submit a message from President Hassan Rouhani to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, inviting him to attend the 3rd Gas Summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) which will be held in Tehran on November 23, 2015.
Iranian ambassador to Algeria Reza Ameri, members of Iranian delegation and directors of various departments in Algerian Energy Ministry were present in the meeting.
The Algerian minister welcomed an Iranian proposal for Iran-Algerian information sharing.
Iranian minister will meet a number of top Algerian officials in addition to President Bouteflika.
The GECF has 18 members and observers. Member states include Iran, Russia, Qatar, Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Peru, UAE and Oman. The observers comprise Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Iraq and Norway.
Gas Exporting Countries Forum controls over 70 percent of world gas reserves.
The third summit of Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Heads of State will be held in the Iranian capital of Tehran on November 23.
The Gas Summit is a meeting of heads of states and governments of GECF member countries. It is an opportunity for heads of states to interact and exchange views.
The Summit affords GECF member states the opportunity to discuss at the highest level developments, trends, and policies on energy in general and gas in particular and also to reaffirm their continued support to the objectives of the Forum.
The 2nd Summit of GECF member states was held in Moscow, capital of Russia, on July 1st 2013.
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) is an intergovernmental organization of 11 of the world's leading natural gas producers made up of Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. GECF members together control over 70% of the world's natural gas reserves, 38% of the pipeline trade and 85% of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. The three largest reserve-holders in the GECF – Russia, Iran and Qatar – together hold about 57% of global gas reserves.
The GECF was established in Tehran, Iran, in 2001. Until the seventh ministerial meeting in Moscow, Russia, it operated without charter and fixed membership structure. The seventh ministerial meeting, held on 23 December 2008 in Moscow, adapted the organization's charter. At the same time, it was decided to set up an Executive Office and a Secretariat in Doha, Qatar. On the eighth ministerial meeting in June 2009, energy minister of Qatar Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah was elected as the chairman (president) of the GECF and Algerian energy minister Chakib Khelil was elected as vice-chairman.
In the ninth ministerial meeting in December 2009, the vice-president of Russian energy engineering and construction company Stroytransgaz Leonid Bokhanovsky was elected as Secretary-General. He was re-elected at the thirteenth ministerial meeting in December 2011. In 2013, GECF ministers elected Iran’s candidate Mohammad-Hossein Adeli, a former head of central bank and diplomat, as the new Secretary-General of the forum for the next two years.