Iran will seek to expand natural gas cooperation with Russia and other members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), focusing on field development, gas exchanges, and export policy coordination, Acting Oil Minister Hamid Bovard said on October 25, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Bovard said Iran would present its positions at the Eighth GECF Summit of Heads of State and Government in Moscow and hold bilateral talks with relevant ministers to discuss cooperation.

He called for discussions on protecting energy infrastructure during conflicts, expanding gas exchanges, exploring the establishment of a common natural gas market, and coordinating international export policies.

Bovard said Iran maintained good relations with Russian energy companies, had signed contracts with them for field development, and was holding talks on natural gas exchanges.

He traveled to Moscow to accompany the Iranian president at the summit and attend the GECF’s 28th ministerial meeting, scheduled for October 26, a day before the leaders’ summit.

The GECF Executive Board and an ad hoc meeting of senior officials were also scheduled to meet on October 25 under the chairmanship of Ali-Mohammad Mousavi, Iran’s deputy oil minister for international affairs and trade. Their tasks included finalizing key documents, including the summit’s final declaration, IRNA reported.

The GECF is an intergovernmental forum for natural gas-producing and exporting countries that discusses market developments, energy security, supply and demand, liquefied natural gas trends, and investment needs.

According to IRNA, the forum’s 12 full members collectively hold about 70% of the world’s proven natural gas reserves, account for 38% of commercial natural gas production, and represent 42% of global natural gas exports.