(MENAFN- Gulf Times) GECF secretary general Yury Sentyurin has said it is 'paramount to stay united with one voice and align all recovery efforts to deal with the economic aftermath of the pandemic crisis. He was addressing the 38th Executive Board Meeting of the Doha-based Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) via videoconference.
Besides Qatar, the meeting was attended by high-ranking officials of Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Norway, Peru and the UAE participated as observers.
'I do believe that the best is yet to come for the forum if we continue in the spirit of multilateral beneficial co-operation, Sentyurin said.
'Despite the challenges facing the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the GECF Secretariat has continued its activities whether it is positioning the Forum internationally in favourable light, or pushing forward the image of natural gas; making new discoveries and facts through our forecasting work, or unearthing data for deeper understanding; bringing our more than a dozen members on the same table, or strengthening the core of the organisation through internal checks and audits, the GECF Secretariat has continued to make progress on many fronts, Sentyurin said.
During the two-day meeting, the gathering reviewed the 2020 milestones, summed up the main outcomes of the 22nd Ministerial Meeting and associated events that was held in November 2020, and forged the way forward for GECF's smooth sailing through the first part of 2021.
Commencing the event, Mohamed Hamel, executive board member from Algeria and chairman of the GECF Executive Board in 2021, acknowledged the efforts of the Secretariat on serving the interests of the member countries in the most accomplished manner and advancing the industry at a global level.
Hamel emphasised that 'for more than a year now, the world has suffered from the Covid-19 pandemic, a human tragedy that has resulted in a dramatic loss of lives and livelihoods. It has been a heavy drag on our economies, reducing export revenues, and scaling back investments. The adverse impact on the energy sector is unprecedented.
'The pandemic will have a lasting impact. The world will not be as before, driven by changes in policies, technology, environmental concerns, consumer preferences, and geopolitics. In this context, the role of the GECF is even more important in the forthcoming decade. Its advocacy role for natural gas has to be impactful in the energy transition journey that the world has embarked on, Hamel added.
The secretary general's management report was submitted for the attention of the Executive Board, with a particular accent on the gradual progress of the Secretariat's performance, along with priority activity areas and other plans in the run up to the marque event, the 6th GECF Summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held in November in Doha, Qatar.
The status report on preparation of 2021's edition of the Global Gas Outlook 2050 was in focus at the meeting, where the GECF Secretariat briefed the audience on further advancement of this signature deliverable.
The features of the second edition of the Annual Short-Term Gas Market Report, and new improvements in the Data Exchange Mechanism were also introduced in the meeting.
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