TEHRAN, Iran — On Nov. 23, eight foreign heads of state — from Russia, Venezuela, Iraq, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Turkmenistan and Algeria — gathered in Tehran’s International Conference Center under tight security. Their aim? To further develop a strategy of cooperation among member countries of the 14-year-old Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), an international body equivalent to OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

In the two days leading up to the conference, Iran was busy hosting the 17th GECF ministerial meeting, during which Azerbaijan was announced as an observer for the first time. Moreover, while neither a GECF member nor observer, Turkmenistan’s president attended the forum as a special guest. Of note, Kazakhstan, Iraq, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman and Peru are GECF observer states, while other members include Egypt, Libya, Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and, of course, Iran.

The Nov. 23 gathering — the third of its kind after the Doha summit in 2011 and the Moscow meeting in 2013 — allowed the seven observers and 18 member states to discuss the latest developments, trends and policies related to energy, in general, and natural gas, in particular. The event was also an effort to reaffirm the members’ continued support for GECF’s objectives.

At the Forum’s opening ceremony, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani affirmed that the conference aims to help boost the “collective interests” of member states and facilitate multilateral technical cooperation — all of which was outlined in a joint declaration that was prepared during the preceding ministerial meeting and subsequently endorsed by the visiting heads of state. The declaration asserts that observer and member states collectively hold two-thirds of the world’s proven natural gas reserves and vows to expand multilateral relations and encourage joint investment projects in the gas sector. Rouhani also announced Iran’s decision to further protect the security of the global energy supply, calling on his guests to devise “coordinated policies” to help increase the share of natural gas in the global energy basket.