Iran Press/Europe: Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, speaking at a meeting in Moscow's Metropol Hotel on Thursday, said that "We have seen a lot of progress in this organization since the establishment of gas OPEC 18 years ago."
Iran's Oil Minister also stressed the need to expand cooperation among gas OPEC members with the aim of tackling the challenges facing the gas industry in the world.
Zanganeh also said: "The initial idea was to create an organization equivalent to OPEC, but for natural gas producers and exporters, it was first presented at a meeting in Tehran in the year 2001."
Listing the destructive actions of the US and some affiliated regimes in the region, Zanganeh added that: "The ineffective policy of sanctions and tension will have devastating consequences for the world economy."
In his speech, the Iranian Oil Minister said that: "The main task of the GECF (Gas Exporting Countries Forum) member states is to balance energy and sustainable gas supply in the development path and to address environmental issues and address challenges. Going forward in the gas field is a must."
Zanganeh declared: "The defense of the national interests of the member states and resistance to pressure and imposition of the opinion of some world powers is an inevitable necessity and stressed that ensuring the security of energy and the free flow of oil and energy should be in the interests of all countries."
Today's summit of gas exporting countries has become a place to share experiences and exchange information, and the increase in the number of members shows that the Islamic Republic of Iran has succeeded.
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