TEHRAN, Iran — On Nov. 23, eight foreign heads of state — from Russia, Venezuela, Iraq, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Turkmenistan and Algeria — gathered in Tehran’s International Conference Center under tight security. Their aim? To further develop a strategy of cooperation among member countries of the 14-year-old Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), an international body equivalent to OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
In the two days leading up to the conference, Iran was busy hosting the 17th GECF ministerial meeting, during which Azerbaijan was announced as an observer for the first time. Moreover, while neither a GECF member nor observer, Turkmenistan’s president attended the forum as a special guest. Of note, Kazakhstan, Iraq, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman and Peru are GECF observer states, while other members include Egypt, Libya, Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and, of course, Iran.
