Iranian Foreign Minister: Cooperation with Russia and GECF will strengthen energy security Tehran, October 26, IRNA - Strengthening energy security, increasing investments and diversifying supply routes will be possible thanks to the development of cooperation between Iran and Russia and other countries that are members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. This position was expressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Abbas Arakhchi, in an opinion column of Vadomosti. Below is the text of the author's column in Vadomosti:
Energy cooperation between Iran and Russia, on the one hand, and interaction between the member states of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), on the other hand, are important in several ways. Such cooperation helps strengthen energy security, diversify energy supply and transit routes, attract investments and technologies for the development of Iran's oil and gas industry, as well as increase export potential and create new opportunities to earn foreign exchange earnings.
Despite such significant potential, the development of broad cooperation is associated with a number of difficulties. Critical obstacles include military aggression and unilateral coercive measures by the United States, as well as the need for large infrastructure investments and the difficulty in agreeing long-term contracts.
However, the Islamic Republic of Iran is confident that through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including within the framework of the current gas forum, it is possible to create an important basis for promoting dialogue and cooperation in the field of natural gas, energy security and the changing world energy concept.