7th GECF summit begins in Algiers

7th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) begins today in Algiers.

The GECF is an international organization of the leading natural gas producers comprised of 11 member-states and 8 observer states. The two-day forum coined the “Algiers Declaration” will be a platform of discussions amongst the representatives of each state regarding the future outlook of global energy security.

As a result of the forum, expect the parties to come to an agreement to further increase cross-border collaboration in the global energy sector, and agree to boost engagement with OPEC. However, any decision to increase cooperation will likely go against Western interests. This is because Western states aim to diversify energy sources and prevent Russia, the world’s second-largest exporter of natural gas, from dominating the energy market. With that in mind, the West will likely take countermeasures. Such actions will likely aim to convince member-states like Qatar—which has the third largest natural gas deposits—to refrain from fully committing to a potential unified plan of action with Iran and Russia, the GECF’s heavyweights.