President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja on Friday to participate in the 5th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
The media aide to the president, Mr. Garba Shehu, stated this in a statement in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.
NAN reports that beside Buhari, the one-day meeting will be attended by leaders of major gas producing nations of the world.
The countries include Algeria, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Bolivia, Iran, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Kazakhstan and Norway.
Shehu said the countries account for 70 per cent and 80 per cent of global gas reserves and production respectively.
“The idea of the GECF was first mooted in 2001 with the First Ministerial Meeting held in Tehran, Iran, while the First GECF otherwise called Gas Summit, took place in Doha, Qatar in 2011 with Nigeria represented at the highest level.
“Indeed, President Buhari had attended the Third Gas Summit in Tehran in November 2015.
“This Fifth Gas Summit in Malabo is the first time the biennial meeting will be hosted in Africa,” he said.
According to the presidential media aide, Nigeria is home to the largest proven natural gas reserves in Africa – over 202 trillion cubic feet (TCF) – and the ninth largest in the world.
Shehu said the Malabo Summit would provide a veritable platform for the president to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to the broad objectives of the GECF.
He said the GECF would among others, seek to “support the sovereign rights of member countries over their natural gas resources and their ability to independently plan and manage the sustainable, efficient and environmentally-conscious development, use and conservation of natural gas resources for the benefit of their people.”
He added that the Nigerian delegation would also use the opportunity to discuss current trends in the global gas market, potential policies for the energy sector and opportunities for collaboration.
“At the end of the 5th Gas Summit, the Malabo Declaration is expected to be adopted,’’ he said.
Shehu revealed that Buhari would be accompanied by the minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite; and the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kolo Kyari.
“After the Summit, President Buhari will head for Daura, Katsina State on a five-day official visit,’’ Shehu further disclosed.
