An extraordinary ministerial meeting of Gas Exporting Countries Forum was held in Tehran early Saturday, followed by a regular meeting later in the day.
Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, chaired the above meetings, respectively.
"The participation of many heads of state and ministers in the Third GECF Summit shows its importance for its members," Zanganeh said in a speech on Saturday, IRNA reported.
He held separate meetings on Friday with Qatar's Energy and Industry Minister Mohammed Saleh Abdulla al-Sada, Trinidad and Tobago Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre and Algerian Energy Minister Salah Khebri.
Zanganeh continued his one-on-one talks on Saturday by meeting Venezuela's Petroleum and Mining Minister Eulogio Antonio del Pino Diaz.
GECF ministers adopted a joint statement during the extraordinary meeting on issues such as climate change and "Gas and Sustainable Development"—the main theme of the summit.
The statement will be presented as a roadmap for reducing global emissions in the Paris climate conference slated for November 30.
The second meeting was a platform to discuss issues, such as the forum's budget and the position of GECF secretary-general.
The summit will bring together on Monday the heads of state from nine countries, including Russia, Bolivia, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Venezuela.
Among scheduled meetings on Monday, Putin is expected to meet President Hassan Rouhani and will later meet with the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei before leaving for Moscow.
GECF chief Mohammad Hossein Adeli said the outcome of the Third GECF Summit in Tehran will be decisive for the global gas market.
"The Third GECF summit is especially important because it is scheduled shortly after the the G-20 meeting in Antalya and ahead of COP 21 (the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference) in Paris," he said.
Adeli added that natural gas–one of the cleanest fossil fuels and a highly efficient form of energy—is an integral part of sustainable development.