ALGIERS (Dispatches) – Heads of State of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) have issued a final declaration at the end of their 7th summit in Algeria, placing emphasis on proposals put forward by the Iranian president, including adopting new policies aimed at breaking monopoly on gas trade technologies.
They approved the declaration “in the spirit of solidarity and cooperation”, emphasizing the importance of several proposals which President Raisi put forward.
Raisi said that the world is facing numerous challenges which require integration among governments to enable them to take the path of development.
“It is essential that the GECF member states adopt new policies to create conditions for breaking the monopoly on technologies related to gas trade,” he noted, proposing that the GECF secretariat creates a mechanism that will help member states exchange technical knowhow and experiences in the gas industry.
The president also said Iran’s regional strategy is to increase the production and export of natural gas and help raise regional countries’ access to this valuable and clean fuel. He announced Iran’s readiness to turn into an energy hub in the region and provide a safe route for the distribution and transit of gas between producers and consumption markets.
Participants in the GECF summit, which brought together representatives from the member states as well as observer and guest countries along with OPEC and several regional energy blocs, expressed resolve to “promote natural gas as an abundant, affordable, flexible and reliable energy source”, according to the text of the Algiers Declaration.
“The leaders welcomed the inauguration in Algiers of the headquarters of the Gas Research Institute to expand cooperation in, inter alia, natural gas technologies, scientifically-guided research, and innovation-led capacity-building for the benefit of GECF Member Countries,” the declaration said.
Raisi held meetings several heads of state on the sidelines the summit. In a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif Rashid, Raisi highlighted the importance that Iran attaches to security of Iraq, stressing the need for closer cooperation between the two neighbors in the fight against terrorist and secessionist groups along the common border.
Denouncing the inaction of certain Arab and Islamic countries regarding the crisis in Palestine, the Iranian president called for the severance of economic and trade ties with the Zionist regime as a practical way to force Israel to stop its atrocities.
In another meeting with President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi, Raisi expressed Iran’s readiness to export technical and engineering services to the East African nation.
Warning of the Zionist regime and the Western governments’ plots to plunder the resources of Africa by supporting terrorists, the Iranian president said the African states should protect their interests by fighting against terrorism.
Another meeting with the Tunisian president revolved around the expansion of political and economic relations between Iran and Tunisia.
In talks with Bolivian President Luis Arce, Raisi praised the Latin American nation’s “revolutionary and anti-imperialist” stances and its support for Palestine.
Raisi also had a meeting with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani, during which the two sides weighed plans to help Gaza and end the Israeli regime’s onslaught.
The Iranian president warned the governments that maintain economic relations with the Israeli regime that they will receive a slap in the face for providing financial support for the Zionist regime.
For his part, the emir of Qatar said the world will never forget the Israeli massacre of innocent Palestinians who were waiting to collect food in Gaza.
Separately, President Raiisi said mosques in Muslim states should enlighten people about the situation of the oppressed Palestinians
in the Gaza Strip who are subjected to the genocidal Israeli war.
Raisi made the remarks in a meeting with Muhammad Mamoun el-Kacimi el-Hassani, the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Algiers, in the Algerian capital.
“Today, raising awareness about the oppressed Palestinian Muslims in Gaza is not the main issue of the Muslim world but rather the mankind and it should be at the center of activities made by the mosques in Islamic territories,” he said.
Mosques, he added, can also create “unity and cohesion among the Islamic Ummah.”
Raisi further said that the Islamic Republic and Algeria share a common position on the Palestinian issue.
“If the same common position in supporting the oppressed Palestinian nation and confronting the Zionist regime existed in the entire Muslim world, would the Zionists dare commit such crimes against the oppressed Palestinians?” he asked.
Raisi also expressed Tehran’s readiness to develop cultural ties with Algiers.
Hassani, for his part, lauded Iran’s courageous and historic stance on the issue of Palestine and voiced hopes that other Muslim countries would follow suit.
Iran has called on Muslim countries to sever their political and economic relations with Israel, and cut off the regime’s vital arteries.