After submitting the invitation of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to his counterpart to take part in the event to the Foreign Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Winston Dookeran on Tuesday, the foreign minister said his country’s president has agreed to attend the meeting.

Earlier, the Iranian official said that presidents of Bolivia and Peru will visit Iran on the occasion, as Trinidad and Tobago and Bolivia will take part in the event as full members of the GECF and Peru as an observer.

The 3rd GECF Summit is scheduled to be held in Tehran in late November 2015.

The deputy oil minister also said that the Netherlands will be the second observer country to participate in the GECF Tehran Summit.

Public Relations Directorate General of the Oil Ministry announced that invitation letters have been sent to ten gas exporting countries and that the remaining invitations will be forwarded in the coming week.

The GECF is a forum of the world’s leading gas producers which was set up as an inter-governmental organization with the objective of increasing the level of coordination and strengthening the collaboration among member states.

Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela are the full members. Iraq, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman and Peru have the observer member status.

The GECF has a strong position on the world gas market and among international energy organizations. Its potential rests on the enormous natural gas reserves of the member countries accumulating 67% of the world proven natural gas reserves, 65% of LNG market, and 41% of pipeline gas trade. 

The GECF member countries in October 2013 elected Mohammad Adeli from Iran as their second secretary general. Adeli is the first Iranian citizen who has become the top official of such an important international economic forum.