Tehran, November 24 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The Gas Exporting Countries Forum, or GECF, met on Monday in the Iranian capital Tehran, with the participation of the heads of state of nine member nations, including the presidents of Venezuela and Bolivia, who agreed on calling for sovereignty over natural resources.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who headed the bloc’s third summit, said the member states are committed to produce clean energy and protect the environment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put the the main issue on the table when he said the cooperation of gas manufacturers and exporters is becoming “the most important factor for sustainable development of the global energy industry.”

During his intervention, Bolivian President Evo Morales stressed the importance to ensure the country’s sovereignty over resources, and to avoid some Western powers from their ongoing attempts to control natural resources, especially oil and gas reserves.
   
“World peace will be reached only when the peoples own their natural resources,” Morales said. He added that armed conflicts over this issue generate “war-displaced people and climate migrants.”

Morales also took the opportunity to call on his counterparts to hold the next summit in Bolivia.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro supported Morales’ statements and pointed out the need for a fair and stable price for the gas market.  He also highlighted that in his country as in Bolivia, the people own the national natural resources.
    
The GECF gathers the world's leading natural gas producers Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.  These countries control over 70 percent of the world's natural gas reserves.  The bloc also includes six observer members.