Ahmadinejad Confers With Bolivian Counterpart

Moscow, July 2, IRNA – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met and conferred with his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales. The meeting took place here Monday at the sideline of the two-day second summit meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries forum (GECF) to begin later in the day. The two presidents discussed the latest world developments and issues of mutual importance and reviewed bilateral relations. During his stay in Moscow, Ahmadinejad will follow up an intense agenda including a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The two presidents are to discuss issues of mutual interest including the situation in Central Asia, Caucasus, Syria and the Caspian Sea regions. On the sidelines of the GECF summit, the Iranian President is to hold separate meetings with heads of participating delegates including Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri Al-Maliki and President Evo Morales of Bolivia. President Ahmadinejad is also to attend a ceremony at the Embassy of Venezuela in Moscow to commemorate the late president Hugo Chavez. He is also to meet a group of Iranians residing in Moscow as well as a group of Russian elites. In related developments, President Ahmadinejad will attend a press conference in the Russian capital. The GECF is an intergovernmental organization of 11 world leading natural gas producers made up of Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. The agenda of the summit covers a number of issues including current developments of world gas markets; the situation of the gas industry in general and in the member states in particular; the views of the member countries regarding their own as well as the consumer energy and gas policies and the current and future status of GECF. The GECF members together control over 70% of the world’s natural gas reserves, 38% of the pipeline trade and 85% of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. The three largest reserve-holders in the GECF – Russia, Iran and Qatar – together hold about 57% of global gas./end