Part of the extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Algeria (Reuters)

Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad bin Sherida Al-Kaabi said, “The State of Qatar sees an urgent need for a shared vision for a fair, balanced and sustainable transition to low-carbon energy, especially in the face of unrealistic goals or emotional rhetoric calling for the abolition of oil and gas.”

The Qatari Minister - who headed his country's delegation to the extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, which was held in Algeria - explained that "the transition to low-carbon energy is a shared responsibility that requires the cooperation of all concerned parties and parties, including end users whose consumption patterns affect demand rates and affect... "Energy generation options. We in the State of Qatar have always emphasized our firm and supportive position on natural gas as a pivotal element in any energy mix on the path towards a realistic transition to low-carbon energy. Likewise, we see that natural gas is the main means of fair and equitable access to cleaner energy." .

At the conclusion of his speech, Al-Kaabi called for confronting the challenges facing the energy industry and its security, saying that "it is important that we work together to ensure the security of energy supplies and the stability of markets through the continuity of providing energy sources."

Al-Kaabi, in his speech, called for confronting the challenges facing the energy industry and its security (Qatari Ministry of Energy)

The largest gas exporting country

The extraordinary ministerial meeting was held in preparation for the seventh summit of heads of state and government of the forum, which will be held in Algeria tomorrow, Saturday.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum is a gathering of the largest gas exporting countries in the world, as it seeks to build a mechanism for effective dialogue between gas producers and consumers to ensure stability and security in supply and demand in global natural gas markets.

The official Algerian News Agency reported that today's ministerial meeting "is taking place with the participation of the energy ministers of the member states and observers of the forum, and will present proposals for draft resolutions to be adopted in the final declaration of the summit by the presidents."

The extraordinary ministerial meeting is part of the activities of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, which Algeria is hosting for the second time. It began yesterday, and ends tomorrow with the seventh summit of the forum.

The forum includes 12 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the Emirates and Venezuela, in addition to observer countries: Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique and Peru.

The Algerian agency stated that the forum expects global demand for this type of fuel to grow by 34% by 2050.

The Forum is a governmental organization representing the most important gas exporting countries, which together constitute 70% of proven global gas reserves, more than 40% of marketed production, 47% of pipeline exports, and more than half of liquefied natural gas exports at the global level.

In his speech during the opening of today's meeting, Algerian Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab said, "We affirm our commitment and collective awareness of the need to intensify cooperation and consultation to formulate effective proposals and recommendations to submit to the summit meeting."

In 2008, Algeria hosted the activities of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies