President To Travel To Russia Monday

Tehran, June 30, IRNA – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to travel to Russia on July 1 to attend the second summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) and hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on international issues, a senior diplomat announced Sunday. Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Abbas Araqchi made the announcement while talking to IRNA. Araqchi said Ahmadinejad and Putin will discuss international and regional issues including developments in Syria, Central Asia and the Caspian Sea. Tehran-Moscow negotiations on various issues have always been constructive, said Araqchi. He hoped President Ahmadinejadˈs visit would lead to deepening bilateral relations. The GECF summit is to review the current situation of gas industry and the world economic situation. The GECF member countries possess 42 percent of world gas production and 70 percent of global gas resources. The current members of the GECF are Iran, Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Kazakhstan, Iraq, the Netherlands and Norway enjoy the GECF observer status. Iran, owning 33.6 trillion cubic meters of proved natural gas reserves, is the world number one in this regard./end