Tag: GECF
…The leaders of 13 states – Algeria, Bolivia, Venezuela, Egypt, Iran, Qatar, Libya, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Trinidad and Tobago, Equatorial Guinea, Oman and Russia, which together control more than 70 percent of natural gas reserves, 45 percent of its exports and a third of all the world’s gas pipelines, along with Kazakhstan, Norway, the Netherlands and Iraq as observers – gathered together in Moscow… And the most important thing which is most relevant right now, but which unfortunately did not get much coverage at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, is the scramble for Asia’s gas markets that is already underway…
Nicolás Maduro’s first visit to Moscow was a busy one. Monday 1 July was dominated by the topics under discussion at the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries. On Tuesday, the Venezuelan president was received by the State Duma to begin with and then by the Kremlin. President Vladimir Putin welcomed his Venezuelan guest in the Green Drawing Room: «I am pleased to note that you have picked up the baton from your predecessor, one of the most prominent leaders in Latin America, Hugo Chavez. Our trade and economic ties have reached a new level… all our plans are developing successfully»… And just several hours after his meeting with Vladimir Putin, the Venezuelan president began his next official visit – to Belarus…
…The Qatar’s double game gives rise to one more intrigue, the fact once again proven at the Moscow Gas Exporting Countries Forum conference. Once no arrangement with Qatar is possible, it is worth to think about «special relationship» with the countries which view the Moscow initiatives favorably because they meet the interests of their national economies, the states like Venezuela, Iran and Iraq. The accords with the Islamic Republic may be an important factor promoting Russia’s general advance on all fronts of the «gas war». Unlike Qatar, Iran puts forward hard-nosed joint projects proposals, including the development of South Pars…