Mohammad-Hossein Adeli, a former governor of Iran's central bank, was chosen to be the next secretary-general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) on Sunday, Iranian oil ministry news website Shana reported. Adeli was elected during the group's 15th ministerial meeting which is being held in Tehran. He replaces Russia's Leonid Bokhanovskiy as the figurehead of the loose group of 13 gas producing countries.
Adeli has previously served as Iran's ambassador to Britain, Japan and Canada, as well as deputy foreign minister for economic affairs. Unlike the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), GECF members have not sought to emulate OPEC's influence on oil prices through co-ordinating their production policy. The GECF member countries are Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.