TEHRAN – Iran is seeking to expand gas trade with members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), develop a common gas market and strengthen energy cooperation, the country's acting oil minister said ahead of the group's eighth summit in Russia.

Hamid Bovard said Iran would hold bilateral talks with oil and energy ministers from member countries on the sidelines of the summit to discuss expanding cooperation and bilateral activities.

Iran, a founding member of the GECF, would outline its positions through President Masoud Pezeshkian at the leaders' summit and through the acting oil minister at the group's ministerial meeting, Bovard said, according to Shana.

Key issues on the agenda include protecting energy infrastructure during wars and crises, expanding gas trade among exporting countries and identifying ways to increase exchanges, he said.

Bovard added that Iran would also push for the establishment of a common gas market and closer coordination among exporting countries to develop common policies on gas exports.

On relations with Russia, Bovard said the two countries had established cooperation in the energy sector, with Russian companies holding contracts to develop several Iranian oil and gas fields. Negotiations on gas exchanges between the two countries are also under way, he added.

"We hope to achieve positive results during this trip and further pave the way for strengthening cooperation and expanding energy exchanges between Iran and Russia," Bovard said.

Bovard travelled to Moscow on Sunday to accompany Pezeshkian at the eighth GECF summit and attend the forum's 28th ministerial meeting.

The ministerial meeting is scheduled for Monday, a day before the leaders' summit. An extraordinary meeting of the GECF Executive Board, chaired by Seyed Ali-Mohammad Mousavi, Iran's deputy oil minister for international affairs and commerce, and a meeting of the Ad Hoc High-Level Committee were also scheduled for Sunday.

The meetings are expected to review and finalize key documents, including the summit's final declaration.

The GECF provides a framework for dialogue and coordination among natural gas-producing and exporting countries. Its meetings address developments in gas markets, supply and demand outlooks, energy security and the role of natural gas in the global energy mix.

Other areas of focus include developing natural gas markets, monitoring trends in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry and assessing investment needs to meet future demand.

The forum's leaders' summit is held every two years. Previous summits took place in Doha in 2011, Moscow in 2013, Tehran in 2015, Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia in 2017, Malabo in Equatorial Guinea in 2019, Doha in 2022 and Algiers in 2024.

The GECF has 12 full members: Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Peru and Senegal participate as observer countries.

According to figures cited by the forum, its members collectively hold about 70 percent of the world's proven natural gas reserves, account for 38 percent of global marketed gas production and 42 percent of global gas exports. Their share of global LNG exports is estimated at around 47 percent.

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