First high-level meeting held to organise sixth GECF Summit

The first meeting to ensure the successful organisation of the 6th GECF Summit of Heads of State and Government, scheduled to take place in the State of Qatar on November 18, 2021, has been convened. The meeting was held under the remit of the High Level Ad Hoc Working Group (HLAHWG), a special working group which oversees and guides the preparation, organisation, and delivery of this signature biennial GECF event. Qatar, following a goodwill initiative by the country’s leadership, announced its intention to host the marquee event at the 21st GECF Ministerial Meeting in Moscow in 2019. The country is a world-class events and conference destination. It is also home to the permanent headquarters of the Forum. The first HLAHWG meeting was chaired by Sheikh Mishal bin Jabor Al Thani, Qatar’s Executive Board Member to the GECF. It enjoyed a full quorum thanks to the participation of distinguished representatives from Member Countries Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

The GECF Secretary General Yury Sentyurin addressed the gathering and said: “The fact that we have taken the first step to organise this important biennial event with a resolve to overcome any challenge, is very inspiring. It also signals our resilience as a community to innovate and progress without stopping in our universal mission of promoting natural gas at all levels.” The meeting’s agenda embraced items of the status report of preparations to the 6th Summit, the Ministerial Meeting, the 3rd GECF International Gas Seminar, draft Summit Declaration, and update on the GECF Awards initiative, amongst others. The invitation to Forum’s peer intergovernmental and international organisations such as OPEC, the International Energy Forum, the International Gas Union, as well as guest countries also came under the discussion. Meeting Chairman Sheikh Mishal noted the valuable contribution of the participants and thanked them for the enriching and insightful discussions. “We have a great responsibility here and we need to come up with a programme that reflects our aspirations and the importance of natural gas as well as the Forum.” The Summit is the Forum’s flagship event, which takes place on the level of Heads of State and Government every two years. Previous Summits have taken place in Doha, Qatar (2011); Moscow, Russian Federation (2013); Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran (2015); Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (2017); and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea (2019). Algeria will host the 7th GECF Summit in 2023.