Opening the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) on Saturday morning, Bijan Zanganeh said "the agenda of the ministerial meeting includes drafting the Final Declaration of the forum’s third summit which is scheduled to be held in Tehran on Monday."
Zanganeh underlined that the draft was prepared during the Fourth Meeting of High Level Ad Hoc Group (HLAHG4) and was handed in to the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting for final approval.
"One of the prominent features of The Third Gas Summit is the number of ministers and government officials participating at the Summit which is a tribute to the value that governments place on the importance of this event," noted the official adding "Iran has the honor of hosting nine heads of state and government as well as the president of Turkmenistan as special guest whose presence has significantly enhanced the level of the current Summit."
"Undoubtedly, the Summit prepares the ground for more exchange of views, broader cooperation and synergy among the existing members of the Forum, and for encouraging more governments to join the GECF," stressed the member of the cabinet.
Zanganeh further reiterated that the main theme of this Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting is endorsing the draft declaration finalized by our representatives in the High Level Group; " the two principles stipulated in the declaration of the previous Summits namely stressing the sovereign rights of the GECF countries over their energy resources, and strengthening cooperation and coordinating policies and so forth have been preserved in the current declaration as well," he emphasized.
"The year 2015 has been an unprecedented and unique year in terms of climate change issues, and the meeting of COP21 is due to be held in Paris next week," said the official continuing "since natural gas in san especial endowment which can contribute to GHC emissions, it has been proposed to convey the message of the GECF on the occasion of Third Summit to COP21."
At the end of his remarks, Iran's oil minister concluded, "one of the most important points in the Declaration is paying attention to the role of cooperation and coordination among GECF member countries aimed at joint investments as well as strengthening mutual cooperation between member countries."
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