The 14th Special Envoys for Data and Statistics (SEDAS) annual meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) was held via videoconference with participation from GECF member countries and data experts from partner organisation of OPEC.
The meeting was attended by Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, UAE, and Venezuela. Additionally, the meeting enjoyed the participation of an OPEC delegation led by Ms Huda Almwasawy, Head of Data Services Department.
In his welcoming remarks, HE Eng. Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General, emphasised the role of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence in all aspects of the energy business, stressing that it is GECF’s commitment to stay at the forefront of data innovations and best practices. He commented that it is crucial to harness these cutting-edge technologies, while mitigating the associated potential risks.
Additionally, HE Hamel said: “By striving for data quality and transparency, we play a crucial role in fostering informed decision-making, enhancing cooperation, attracting investment, spurring innovation, and promoting environmental sustainability.”
In her remarks, Ms Almwasawy said: “Cooperation is an utmost priority for our organisations. It is consistent with all the energy dialogues as all parties benefit from constructive dialogue, open and transparent use of data and the exchange of best practices. As we all know the energy sector plays a crucial role in driving a global economic growth, reducing poverty and improving people's living standards worldwide.”
During the meeting, the Secretariat presented the status updates on the longstanding GECF Exchange Mechanism (DEM), and discussed the updated set of available tools created for data collection, sharing and visualisation, the statistical deliverables methodologies, and the GECF Annual Statistical Bulletin plan and preparations for 2023.
In line with technological advances, the Secretariat arranged an awareness-raising session dedicated to cloud computing architecture and to recent advances and applications of generative artificial intelligence.