Energy-rich Azerbaijan has taken a step forward in its integration into the international family of gas producers after gaining an observer status at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

With 2.6 trillion cubic meters of natural gas South Caucasus country retains a prospective of a reliable gas supplier to the global markets and is keen to play a crucial role in covering increasing demand on the market.

The new observer at the 3rd Gas Summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum has offered the countries of the region to use its already established infrastructure for transportation of oil and gas.

Azerbaijan was announced the observer of the GECF’s Tehran meeting on November 23.

Addressing the summit Energy Minister Natig Aliyev urged the producers to pay more attention to the rational use of energy resources, ecology, and environment.

… James Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Singaporean Nanyang Technological University, told Trend that being an observer at the GECF is of great importance for such countries as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, given the significance of gas in the Caspian region and Central Asia, as well as growing competition on the background of decline of imports by such consumers as China.