Al-Arab Affirms Importance of 6th Summit of Gas Exporting Countries Forum

Doha, February 20 (QNA) - In its editorial Sunday, Al-Arab daily newspaper emphasized the importance of the 6th summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which will be held on Tuesday, with the high-level participation of a number of State leaders and oil and gas ministers of the forum member States. The newspaper pointed out that one of the most important objectives of the forum is to support the sovereign rights of its Member Countries over their natural gas resources, and their abilities to independently plan and manage the sustainable, efficient and environmentally conscious development, use and conservation of natural gas resources for the benefit of their peoples, noting that the forum also seeks to build a mechanism for a more constructive dialogue between gas producers and consumers, for the stability and security of supply and demand in the global natural gas markets. The paper indicated that the forum, which is headquartered in Doha, will discuss many important files, such as the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and will also discuss a mechanism to ensure the flow of energy in times of crisis, in addition to the essential role of natural gas in achieving sustainable development, while the participating countries will present their vision for the future of natural gas, which is considered clean energy in the coming years, in addition to cooperation in research and exploration. Al-Arab said that the summit is being held at a very sensitive time, in which European concerns about Russian gas supplies are rising due to the Ukraine crisis, therefore, the world is counting on the summit to come up with solutions that ensure there is no crisis in energy supplies, as the forum countries collectively represent 70 percent of the world's gas reserves, 51 percent of global exports of LNG, 44 percent of marketed production, and 52 percent of pipelines. The newspaper stressed that the State of Qatar, under the vision of the wise leadership of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, was able to be an important figure in the equation to resolve the International hotspots crises, as it is an acceptable mediator from various parties, and according to observers, it can use this forum to talk with Russia about the Ukrainian crisis, since all participants in the summit are concerned about the consequences of the escalation of the crisis on the security of global gas supplies. Al-Arab concluded by saying that many politics and diplomacies express their hope that the forum will be a good opportunity in which Doha offers the United States to mediate between it and Russia in this crisis, in order to reach a political solution, to avoid the confrontation that will have consequences for the entire world. (QNA)