The sixth meeting of the Assembly of Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) kicked off on Tuesday focusing on world energy security in Doha, Qatar.

The idea of creating a forum as an official organization was first performed at the meeting in 2001 in Tehran, but it was legally instituted after the idea was supported by Russia. Vladimir Putin, on a visit to Qatar, the largest gas-producing country, reached an agreement with the Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to coordinate activities in the gas sector.
GECF is an intergovernmental organization currently comprising 19 Member Countries of the world's leading natural gas producers: Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela are members and Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Norway, Peru, and the United Arab Emirates are observers.
GECF members together control over 71% of the world's natural proven gas reserves, 44% of its marketed production, 53% of the pipeline, and 57% of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports across the globe. It is headquartered in Doha, Qatar.