Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh addressed the opening ceremony of GECF’s ministerial meeting.
Tehran – The Islamic Republic of Iran was elected as the new secretary general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). The decision was made at the 15th ministerial meeting of the GECF in Tehran on Sunday.
The two competitors for the post were Iran and Libya. Iran garnered 6 votes against Libya which received 5 votes.
Former Iranian central banker Mohammad-Hossein Adeli was elected to lead the GECF for a two-year term.
Mohammad-Hossein Adeli has already served as Iran’s ambassador to Canada and the UK. He replaces Russia’s Leonid Bokhanovsky.
The GECF is a bloc of the world’s leading gas producers and was set up as international governmental organization with the objective to increase the level of coordination and strengthen the collaboration among member countries.
Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela are the members of the forum. Kazakhstan, Iraq, the Netherlands, and Norway are observer members.
The GECF has a strong position on the world gas market and among international energy organizations. Its potential rests on the enormous natural gas reserves of the member countries all together accumulating 62 percent of the world’s proven natural gas reserves.
