Ahmadinejad to address GECF summit in Doha

TEHRAN,Nov.12 (MNA) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will deliver a speech at the first summit of the heads of state of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) which will open on November 15 in Doha, the capital city of Qatar, said the representative of Iran to GECF. Mohammad-Ali Khatibi told that the meeting will explore avenues for boosting coordination and cooperation among the GECF member states. The global prices of gas and international markets will be the focal points of discussion in the meeting, Khatibi added. The first gas summit would provide a platform to the GECF members to work out mechanisms and programs for enhancing their cooperation and for exchange of technical information and promotion of the use of natural gas in new sectors, such as transport and gas-to-liquids (GTL) products. GECF is a gathering of the world's leading gas producers aimed at representing and promoting their mutual interests. GECF includes eleven member countries while three other states attend the meeting as observers. The member countries, namely Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia Federation, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, hold 42 percent of the global gas production, 70 percent of the world gas reserves, 38 percent of gas pipelines and 85 percent of LNG trade. Kazakhstan, Norway, and Netherlands are the observer members.