Venezuelan president meets Iran supreme leader ahead of GECF summit

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani welcomed the heads of seven countries and a prime minister who have come to Iran to take part in the Gas Summit.

The Deputy President of Iran, Shariat Madri, received President Buhari at the Mehrabad worldwide Airport.

The one-day meeting on Saturday was held under the chairmanship of Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources as president of the Ministerial Meeting.

Iranian Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Aliakbar Velayati an advisor to the Supreme Leader attended the meeting, IRNA news agency reported November 23. The summit, which gathers the heads of state and government of member countries, is aimed at discussing energy and gas policies.

The summit will also provide a framework for exchange of experience, views, information and data, as well as coordination in gas-related developments among member countries.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Monday in Tehran, Iran to discuss the stabilization of the price of oil, a critical export and important source of revenue for both countries. It was also decided that the 18th Ministerial Meeting of the GECF will be convened in Doha on November 17 next year.

GECF members account for 42 percent of global gas output, 70 percent of global gas reserve, 40 percent of piped gas transfer, and 65 percent of global trade of Liquefied Natural Gas.

Iran, Russia, Algeria, the UAE, Venezuela, Qatar, Egypt, Bolivia, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago are the members of the forum and the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Peru, Iraq, Oman, and Norway hold observer status.