The decision was made during the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the 7th GECF Summit attended by Iran"s Oil Minister Javad Owji in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, on Friday, Iran"s SHANA news agency reported.
Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, hosted the 25th GECF Ministerial Meeting on October 10, 2023.
Based on an initial proposal made by Iran, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum was established by Iran, Russia, Qatar, and other gas exporting states on December 23, 2008.
Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the UAE, and Venezuela are the GECF members and Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, and Peru hold the status of observers.
GECF is comprised of 19 member countries, representing 69% of the world"s gas reserves, 39% of the marketed production, and 40% of global gas exports. Moreover, GECF member countries collectively account for more than half of the world LNG exports (51%).