The UAE announced on Tuesday it will join leaders of the world's biggest gas suppliers in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, state news agency WAM reported Tuesday.
"The cabinet gave approval today (Tuesday) for the UAE's decision to join the Gas Exporting Countries Forum," WAM said.
The GECF, whose members hold just under 70 percent of the world's natural gas reserves, was founded in 2008 and is based in Qatar.
It currently comprises Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Oman, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
Kazakhstan, Norway and the Netherlands are observers.
The UAE which has proven reserves of 97.8 billion barrels of oil also has over six trillion cubic metres (212 trillion cubic feet) of gas, ranking it fourth in the world.
Russia is the world's largest gas producer and sits on 30 percent of global reserves, while Qatar is the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter with a production capacity of 77 million tonnes a year.