The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) secretary general Dr SM Adeli (pictured) was conferred with the ‘Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star’ in an awarding ceremony held in Tokyo on Friday.
Adeli received the award from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzu Abe at the Japanese Imperial Palace.
The Order is one of the highest honours in Japan, awarded to eminent Japanese and non-Japanese, who have made distinguished achievements in the fields of international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, advancements in their field, development in welfare, or preservation of the environment.
Adeli has vast international experience in energy, economic, and diplomatic areas and held positions such as Iran’s Central Bank governor, advisor to the president of Iran, and advisor to the minister of oil for international affairs and deputy foreign minister for economic and energy affairs.
Adeli, who has a PhD in Business Administration and in Economics, has also served as Iranian ambassador to Japan, Canada, and the UK.
He is the second secretary general of the GECF since its establishment as a formal international organisation in 2008.
Since his assumption to office as secretary general of the GECF in January 2014, Adeli has embarked on “a new phase of dynamism” to transform the forum into a “credible” international platform for natural gas discourse.
Also, Adeli has pioneered a number of initiatives at the GECF secretariat in Doha, including the ‘GECF monthly lecture series’, which attracts audiences that include ambassadors and members of diplomatic corps, businesses and oil and gas companies, academics and interested players in the energy sector.
Another initiative is the monthly lecture, which is now in its fifth edition, is by invitation only and has since become a monthly gas gathering.
