Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)

General informations

· In 2001, at the Tehran meeting, which was attended by 10 gas exporting countries (Algeria, Iran, Qatar, Russian Federation, Oman, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkmenistan, Brunei and Norway), it was decided to establish the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries (GECF), and in 2008, at the 7th Ministerial Meeting in Moscow, GECF was legally established.

· The headquarters of the organization has been located in the capital of Qatar, Doha, since 2009. The forum has 12 main (Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and the UAE) and 8 observer members (Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Peru, Mozambique and Senegal).

· On 23.10.2025, during the 27th Ministerial Meeting of the GECF in Doha, Philip Mshelbila (Nigeria) was appointed Secretary General of the GECF for two years.

· The member countries of the forum concentrate 70 % of the world's gas reserves, 35 percent of trade through pipelines, and 85 % of LNG production.

GECF strives for the implementation of the following goals:

- Promoting the choice of natural gas as the main fuel;

- Supporting the development and evaluation of the natural gas market of member countries in the future, taking profit from the opportunities that will arise, and the solution of the problems encountered;

- Promoting the development of the global gas market internationally;

- Supporting cooperation between member countries.

To date, 7 summits of the forum have been held: the 1st Summit in Doha (Qatar) in 2011, the 2nd Summit in Moscow (the Russian Federation) in 2013, the 3rd Summit in Tehran (Iran) in 2015, the 4th Summit in Santa Cruz (Bolivia) in 2017, the 5th Summit in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) in 2019, the 6th Summit in Doha (Qatar) in 2022, and the 7th Summit in Algeria (Algeria) in 2024.

         Cooperation with Azerbaijan

· On 23.11.2015, at the 3rd GECF Summit in Tehran, Azerbaijan joined the organization as an observer.

· On 5-6 June 2024, GECF Secretary General Mohamed Hamel attended the Baku Energy Forum.

· Up to date, 27 Ministerial Meetings of GECF have been held, and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan regularly participates in these meetings at a high level.