9th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum

The signing of the GECF Host Country Agreement between the State of Qatar and the GECF, the inclusion of the Netherlands as an Observer Member, the appointment as per the Statute of the authorities for 2010 (President and Alternate President of the Ministerial Meeting: Algeria and Venezuela; Chairman and Alternate Chairman of the Executive Board: the Venezuelan and Algerian EB members, respectively), and the election and appointment of Mr. Leonid Bokhanovskiy as the Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum were the main outcomes of the 9th Ministerial Meeting which was held in Doha, Qatar in December 2009.

The first Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, Leonid Bokhanovskiy, took office on January 1st, 2010 and set as his main duty to launch Secretariat activity in Doha, to develop a platform for GECF Member Countries to exchange information and to start in-house research activity by developing research and analytical capabilities. The registration of the GECF with the United Nations Organization and the meeting between the Secretary General of the UN and the Secretary General of the GECF was a truly important step to worldwide recognition of the GECF and opened doors to closer dialogue between two organizations.