The President pointed out that Iran, relying on its huge reserves of natural gas, transit location and high technology, has placed its regional strategy on increasing the production and export of natural gas and increasing the access of the nations of the region to this clean and value-creating energy, and said, "We are ready to become an energy hub as well as a safe route for the distribution and transit of gas between producers and consumption markets".
Speaking this Saturday afternoon at the 7th GECF Summit in Algeria, Dr Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi pointed out that the capacities created in Iran's gas industry are a suitable ground for the cooperation of member countries of the assembly in the upstream and downstream areas of natural gas and its trade, and stated, "I am using the opportunity to invite international investors and investors from member countries of the Forum to participate in the projects of Iran's energy sector, including the projects of the natural gas industry".
Also, in the opening part of his speech, the President condemned the continuation of the crimes committed by the Zionist regime against the Palestinians in Gaza and the support of the Americans and some western countries for this genocide, while presenting practical solutions and suggestions in order to stop the killing machine of the Zionists, and stated, "The current war is the confrontation of the axis of evil against the axis of honour. On one side of the front, there is an army that is waiting for more and stronger weapons and bombs from America, and on the other side of the front, there are children who miss a bite of bread. Those who remain silent today will be slapped hard tomorrow. Today, Palestine is the yardstick of humanity, morality and conscience of human society".
President's speech is as follows:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
My dear brother Mr Abdelmadjid Tebboune,
Honourable President of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria,
Expressing my pleasure in traveling to Algeria and attending the 7th meeting of the heads of the Assembly of Gas Exporting Countries, I congratulate your Excellency's presidency and thank the friendly government and nation of Algeria for hosting this meeting. I would also like to thank the honourable government of Qatar for the past period and appreciate the honourable secretary general and his colleagues who worked hard in the assembly secretariat to prepare the preparations for the meeting and follow up on current affairs.
Dear Mr President,
Dear heads of the participating delegations,
First of all, I would like to talk about Palestine, an important issue in the world of humanity.
The Western domination system, which was formed on the basis of the colonialism of the nations of the world, has become weaker and meaningless today than ever, and considers its survival in the continuation of the relationship between the dominant and the dominated. Nations such as the brave nation of Algeria were able to free themselves from this heavy burden with the resistance and sacrifice of one million martyrs, but the weight of this burden is still felt on the shoulders of some nations, including the oppressed nation of Palestine.
There is no doubt that the establishment of the Zionist regime was a colonial project to maintain the dominance and influence of the West in our region, and now that thanks to the resistance of the Palestinian people, the pillars of this glass garrison have collapsed and irreparable blows have been inflicted on its body, it is obligatory for everyone to support the oppressed and powerful nation in every possible way.
The current war is the confrontation of the axis of evil against the axis of honour. On one side of the front, there is an army that is waiting for more and stronger weapons and bombs from America, and on the other side of the front, there are children who miss a bite of bread. Those who remain silent today will be slapped hard tomorrow. Today, Palestine is the yardstick of humanity, morality and conscience of human society.
While official statistics indicate the martyrdom of more than 30,000 women and children at the hands of Zionist terrorists, thousands of people have remained under the rubble for several months and the incessant bombardment has not provided an opportunity to extricate their bodies. Worse, hundreds of thousands of women and children are dying due to malnutrition and disease. American policies have put Gaza on the brink of a serious famine.
The United Nations Security Council, which is designated as the guarantor of peace and security according to the United Nations Charter, has been unable to establish a ceasefire due to the relentless support of the United States for the Zionist regime's war machine. America has left no stone unturned in its political support and financial, weapon and media support to the organised terrorism of the Zionist regime, and American and European bombs are taking revenge on the cause of Palestine. If America and Europe are really looking for peace and security and non-expansion of war, they should stop lying and hypocrisy and stop sending weapons and bombs that kill Palestinians.
Today, the cries for justice and pacifism in favour of the oppressed people of Gaza are loud from all over the world, from Latin America to Africa and Europe, and even the officers of the American army prefer to set themselves on fire but not to step into the hell that the crimes of the West have prepared for them. America should answer whether there is a mechanism for the protest of the protesting officers against America's warmongering, or the rest of the protestors should also set themselves on fire so that their voices are heard. The tragedy of the intentional massacre of dozens of oppressed and hungry people who had gathered to prepare food, but were killed by the deliberate attacks of the Israeli terrorist army, is intolerable and requires immediate action and a deterrent and international approach.
It has been almost 5 months now that the freedom seekers of the world have been persistent and persevering in the streets non-stop in different countries in protest against the crimes of the Zionist regime and in protest against the American support for this regime and have not been disappointed. Their continuous and tireless cry is to stop killing children, stop besieging the people of Gaza, don't close water, food and medicine on the oppressed people of Gaza, stop the anti-human rights act of bombing hospitals, stop attacking international relief centres and offices of the United Nations and the Red Cross, do not kill journalists; Know that the voice of the oppressed and powerful people of Palestine is unquenchable.
I, on behalf of the heroic nation of Iran, sincerely thank and appreciate my dear brothers across the resistance front, especially Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as the proud Hezbollah in Lebanon and the fighting warriors in Yemen and every free person who bravely takes an honourable position against the Zionists' belligerence and the brutal killing of people of Gaza.
Despite all the crimes it has committed, Israel has not achieved any of its goals. The Palestinian resistance continues its stability and endurance. The Palestinian nation proved that blood is victorious over the sword.
We still believe that an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and the lifting of the blockade and the emergency dispatch of humanitarian aid should be carried out, and therefore we support any initiative in this field.
- The crimes committed by the Zionist regime and America and other supporters of this regime should be dealt with in the competent international court and they should be punished for the crimes they have committed.
- This regime should be expelled from the United Nations and all regional and international assemblies and be subject to global sanctions by nations and governments.
- The complete termination of overt and covert relations with this regime is the least that Muslim nations expect from their statesmen, which must be done immediately.
We believe that the victory against a regime that has violated hundreds of international resolutions and even turned its back on compromise agreements and is now seeking to occupy Gaza militarily and displace the Palestinian nation again is only the path of resistance.
By presenting a stable political solution, the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that by referring to the votes of the Palestinian people anywhere in the world, including Muslims, Christians and Jews, the fate of this historical land should be left to the Palestinian nation itself.
But the second part is focused on the important topic of the summit. While the world is struggling with many challenges in various fields, including energy security, climate change, and tensions, more than ever, we need more convergence of societies and consensus and solutions of governments and international organisations to overcome these challenges and moving in the path of development, helping to preserve nature and creating a better future for the world around us. Certainly, the correct and comprehensive use of natural resources such as natural gas as a clean, safe and efficient fuel will play an important role in this field.
Considering the importance of increasing the volume and defining new routes of natural gas trade, it is necessary to put new policies on the agenda of the members of this forum, so that in order to increase economic savings and joint investments, the necessary conditions for the comprehensive benefit of this divine gift and de-monopoly in technologies related to gas trade is facilitated. The Forum can expand its regional markets with various initiatives by forming investment funds and gas hubs and design capital attraction mechanisms.
Dear colleagues;
Relying on its huge reserves of natural gas, its transit position and high technology, the Islamic Republic of Iran intends to develop bilateral and multilateral cooperation with all countries in the global gas market, especially neighbouring countries from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf and its neighbours in the East and the West to find a role that fits these capacities. Our regional strategy is based on increasing the production and export of natural gas and increasing the access of the nations of the region to this clean and value-creating energy. The Islamic Republic of Iran declares that it is ready to become an energy hub as well as a safe route for the distribution and transit of gas between producers and consumption markets.
The capacities created in Iran's gas industry have created a suitable ground for the cooperation of member countries of the forum in the upstream and downstream areas of natural gas and its trade. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I invite international investors and investors from member countries of the Forum to participate in the projects of Iran's energy sector, including the projects of the natural gas industry.
In the fields of science and benefiting from knowledge-based technologies, I would also like to point out that Iranian knowledge-based companies can create partnerships and successful examples in the form of new models in interaction with the member countries of the forum. Based on this, the Islamic Republic of Iran invites the member countries of the forum to start systematic cooperation for joint investments in the gas industry to exchange information and experiences in the field of gas extraction, processing, transmission and trade and related technologies. I suggest that the secretariat of the forum should use a mechanism to exchange technical knowledge and experiences of the member countries in the gas industry, so that we can see that all members enjoy each other's capacities.
In the end, I would like to thank all my dear colleagues and respected participating delegations for their active and effective participation in this meeting and the meetings of senior experts and ministers.
Hoping for the final victory of Palestine and the liberation of the Noble Quds
And greetings to all warriors and martyrs of the resistance front
Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings