DUSHANBE, November 24, 2015, Asia-Plus – IRNA reports that Iranian and Russian presidents in a meeting in Tehran on Monday underlined the need for the further expansion of bilateral ties and mutual cooperation.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin reportedly laid emphasis on the further broadening of Tehran-Moscow relations.

The Iranian and Russian presidents met on the sidelines of the Third summit meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Tehran on November 23.

President Rouhani pointed to the good and friendly relations of Iran and Russia in different sectors, and said, “Fortunately, in recent months we have taken valuable steps for further development of Iran-Russia relations in bilateral and international domains and this trend should continue.”

The Iranian president said that Tehran and Moscow share views on many important regional and international issues.

President Rouhani pointed to the issue of fighting terrorism, and said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is serious in fighting terrorism and Russia also specially in recent months have taken effective measures in fighting terrorism in the region.”

President Rouhani went on to say that today terrorism is a threat for the region and the world countries.

The Russian president, for his part, said that the GECF decided to facilitate the gas exporting countries to have gas cooperation with each other and also with the Iranian friends in different fields.

President Putin voiced satisfaction with his meeting with President Rouhani at the presence of the two countries'' ministers and heads of different organizations.

“These talks were in continuation of the negotiations I had with Iranian Leader,” the Russian president added. 

Meanwhile, Sputnik reports that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that Tehran was ready to increase the production and export of energy resources and invited the 12 member nations of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) to take part.

“Surely potential investors/partners in Iranian energy development will be cautious but not allergic to Rouhani''s overtures,” Ball State University Professor of Economics Cecil Bohanon told Sputnik on Monday.

Capitalist investors are an interesting breed, Bohanon added, because they are willing to pursue trustworthy opportunities, like those in Iran, regardless of geopolitical circumstances.

“They [investors] have little sentiment for political ideology but absolutely require trust to commit,” he noted.

Brown University Professor Jeff Colgan, author of Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War , told Sputnik that Rouhani’s comments could encourage foreign companies to invest in energy markets, although they need to understand that the projects will take years to come to fruition.

“Foreign companies deciding whether to invest will have to balance positive signals from the current government [in Tehran] against the long historical pattern of Iranian antipathy to foreign investors dating back to the 1979 revolution,” Colgan claimed.

Iran reached a landmark deal with the six world powers in July 2015, easing anti-Iran sanctions in exchange for Tehran’s agreement to reduce its uranium stockpiles and significantly cut centrifuges over the next decade and a half.

In September, National Iranian Oil Company head Ali Kardor said he expected Iran’s oil exports to increase by 500,000 barrels a day by late November or December. Western sanctions were estimated to have cut Iran’s crude oil export revenue by almost half since 2011.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) is an intergovernmental organization of 11 of the world''s leading natural gas producers made up of Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.  GECF members together control over 70% of the world''s natural gas reserves, 38% of the pipeline trade and 85% of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production.  The three largest reserve-holders in the GECF – Russia, Iran and Qatar – together hold about 57% of global gas reserves.