Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)

In 2001, an agreement was approved on the establishment of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum at a meeting in Tehran, attended by 10 gas exporting countries (Algeria, Iran, Qatar, Russia, Oman, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkmenistan, Brunei and Norway). The organisation was legally established in Moscow in 2008. 

The organisation has been headquartered in Doha, Qatar, since 2009. The Forum comprises 12 key members (Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela) and 7 observer members (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Iraq, Oman and Peru).

The Secretary-General of GECF has been Mohamed Hamel since January 1, 2022.

The member countries of the forum control 70% of the proven gas reserves of the world, 35% of trade in pipelines and 85% of LNG production.

To date, 5 summits of the forum have been held. The first summit was held in Qatar in 2011, the second in Moscow in 2013, the third in Tehran in 2015, the fourth in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on November 24, 2017, and the 5th summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on November 29, 2019.

The main goal of the forum is to support the sovereign rights of its member countries over their natural gas resources and their ability to independently plan and manage the sustainable, efficient and environmentally conscious development, use and conservation of natural gas resources for the benefit of their people. In this process, the trends observed in world gas production, the current and expected balance of supply and demand, the analysis of new technologies and other global problems in the gas industry are the main areas of discussion for the forum.

The GECF endeavours to pursue the following strategic goals:

-    To promote natural gas as the fuel of choice;
-    To provide support for member countries in assessing and forecasting natural gas market developments, with the objectives of becoming a reference in natural gas outlook and keeping member countries informed and prepared to address the challenges and to benefit from the opportunities that may arise in the future;
-    To develop a shared understanding of market conditions in order to establish common views and positions on global gas market development and to promote them internationally;
-    To provide a framework for cooperation amongst Member Countries.

Azerbaijan's accession to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum is important in terms of building transit and export gas pipelines, regulating sustainable gas production, studying the interconnection of Caspian gas pipelines, introducing new innovations to ensure the energy security of Caspian countries and creating the right market conditions.

On November 29, 2014, Seyed Mohammad Hossein Adeli, Secretary-General of GECF, visited Baku. During the visit, it was noted that the member states of the forum were interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan and that the country would play an important role in the global gas market. During the visit, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, hosted Seyid Mohammad Hossein Adeli. 
Azerbaijan joined the GECF as an observer at the 3rd GECF summit in Tehran on November 23, 2015. The Tehran Declaration, signed as a result of the summit, states that Azerbaijan received observer status at the forum. Energy Minister, Natig Aliyev, attended the summit.
On August 30, 2016, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, once again hosted Seyid Mohammad Hossein Adeli, Secretary-General of GECF. A meeting with the Secretary-General of the forum was also held at the Ministry of Energy.
On November 7, 2016, the 4th meeting of the GECF Technical and Economic Council (TEC) was held with the participation of national representatives of GECF member states in Doha, and on November 17, the 18th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum was held.
On October 4, 2017, the 19th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum was convened in Moscow.
Energy Minister, Parviz Shahbazov, participated in the 4th Summit of heads of states and governments of the countries participating in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on November 24, 2017.
On May 29, 2018, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, hosted Yury Sentyurin, GECF Secretary-General. 
From May 29 until June 1, Yury Sentyurin, Secretary-General of GECF, participated in the 26th International Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition, held in Baku. 
On October 3, 2019, Minister of Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, attended the 21st GECF Ministerial Meeting during a visit to Moscow.
On November 29, 2019, Azerbaijan was represented by Minister of Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, at the 5th GECF Summit held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
On 11-12 November 2020, a Ministerial Round table and the 22nd Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) were held. Abdelmadjid Attar, Minister of Energy of People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, President of the GECF Ministerial Meeting and Yury Sentyurin, Secretary General of GECF, other ministers, as well as member and observer countries of the organization took part at the online meeting. Azerbaijan's Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov also made a speech at the Ministerial Round Table and the 22nd Ministerial Meeting. 

On 17 November 2021, the Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov attended the 23rd Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which was held through videoconference and hosted by Bolivia. The Ministerial Meeting continued its work in three sessions. At the event, the report of the Board of Directors and Secretariat of the GECF for 2021 was reviewed, presentations on the current status of the gas market and development forecasts for 2050 were made, issues related to the approval of the organization's budget for 2022, the appointment of the president and members of the Board of Directors of the GECF for 2022, the 24th Ministerial Meeting and the 6th GECF Summit to be held in Qatar next year were discussed and decisions were made

Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov participated at the Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Doha, Qatar. In his speech, the Minister spoke about the factors contributing to the current instability in the global gas sector, and the role of the Southern Gas Corridor in turning Azerbaijan into a reliable energy supplier both in the region and on the European continent was also touched upon. 

The 6th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) chaired by the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was held in Doha on 22 February 2022. Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov, representing Azerbaijan, made a speech at the summit. The summit was attended by the presidents of Iran, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Mozambique, the prime ministers of Libya, Trinidad and Tobago, and ministers of 12 countries. The summit participants adopted the Doha Declaration.