TEHRAN (Sputnik) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to attend the upcoming Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Iran's capital Tehran, a Sputnik correspondent reported Thursday.
The president's invitation was conveyed by Iran's Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum is an international governmental organization that unites leading countries in the export of natural gas, and aims to coordinate and strengthen cooperation between its member states.
The forum was founded in 2001 in Tehran and legally established on December 23, 2008 in Moscow. The forum's permanent members are Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Iran, Qatar, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, Equatorial Guinea, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, while the Netherlands, Norway and Kazakhstan have observer status.
