Third GECF summit

2015 GECF summit 3rd GECF summit

Host country	Iran
Date	22–23 November 2015
Venue(s)	Ejlas Saran Hall
Cities	Chamran Expressway, Tehran
Participants	GECF
Chair	Mohammad-Hossein Adeli
Follows	2nd GECF summit
Precedes	4th GECF summit
Website	Third GECF Gas Summit

The 3rd GECF summit was a biennial Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit, an international relations conference attended by the heads of state or heads of government of most member states of the GECF. The summit was held in Tehran, Iran, the first time the city has hosted the summit. Iran assumed the chair of the GECF from Russia on 1 January 2014.

Background

The summit was announced during the first meeting of the High-Level Ad Hoc Group for the 3rd Gas Summit on 20 May 2015. The group also discussed the draft summit declaration and other issues.^[1]

Participating leaders

Full members:^{[citation needed]}

Iran
Hassan Rouhani, President (Host)
Algeria
Abdelmalek Sellal, Prime Minister
Bolivia
Evo Morales, President
Egypt
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President
Equatorial Guinea
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President
Libya
Mohammed al-Dairi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Nigeria
Muhammadu Buhari, President
Qatar
Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry
Russia
Vladimir Putin, President
Trinidad and Tobago
Keith Rowley, Prime Minister
United Arab Emirates
Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister
Venezuela
Nicolás Maduro, President

Observer members:

Iraq
Fuad Masum, President
Kazakhstan
Karim Massimov, Prime Minister
Netherlands
Henk Kamp, Minister of Economic Affairs
Norway
Tord Lien, Minister of Petroleum and Energy
Oman
Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Peru
Marisol Espinoza, Vice President

Special Guest:

Azerbaijan
Ilham Aliyev, President^[2]
Turkmenistan
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, President
European Union
Federica Mogherini, High Representative
OPEC
Abdallah Salem el-Badri, Secretary General

Final communique

The final communique underscored the need for stronger cooperation, including the transfer of expertise and pricing mechanisms. It also called for cooperation in the security of natural gas supplies to the global markets. It further objected to the application of extraterritorial laws, regulations and economic sanctions within the sector against the GECF member states.^{[citation needed]}

Bilateral meetings

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The two discussed "issues in bilateral relations, including atomic energy, oil and gas, and military-technical cooperation," according to his Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov. Putin also met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.^{[citation needed]}