ISLAMABAD: Notwithstanding international pressures, Pakistan gave on Monday an unequivocal assurance to Iran that it would implement, on a fast track basis, multi-billion-dollar gas and electricity import projects.
“Pakistan is fully committed to importing electricity and gas from Iran and we are working on a fast track basis to finalise these deals at the earliest,” Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, the prime minister’s adviser on finance, told visiting Iranian Deputy President Ali Saeedlou.
The assurance was given at a time when Washington is putting pressure on Islamabad to back off from the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, under which the country is to receive up to one billion cubic feet of natural gas from Iran by 2014.
The US, which has intensified its efforts for increased economic sanctions against Iran, offered to Pakistan alternative sources of energy in the form of LNG imports and natural gas transmission from Turkmenistan.
Dr Hafeez and Ali Saeedlou also discussed opportunities to boost trade and increase investment in horticulture, livestock, energy, transport, telecommunications and engineering sectors.
Dr Hafeez said the establishment of proper rail and road network for goods transport would facilitate trading communities of the two countries to access markets in the region. “The present visit will further strengthen our friendship and bilateral trade, economic and political relations,” he said.
A joint news conference by Dr Hafeez and the Iranian deputy president was cancelled in the evening following a Supreme Court order suspending 28 members of the Senate and national and provincial assemblies elected during by-polls conducted by an incomplete Election Commission. Dr Hafeez is also among them.
Pakistan called for early implementation of the projects already committed to by the two sides. It also stressed the need for increasing bilateral trade from $1.5 billion to $5 billion.
