The two countries agreed in 2015 to build a 1,100 km-long pipeline to deliver imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Karachi to power plants in Punjab province.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Russia can supply gas to Pakistan as necessary infrastructures are already in place, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday during his meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan, Russian state-owned news wire TASS reported.
The meeting occurred shortly after Prime Minister Sharif reached Samarkand to attend the SCO’s Council of Heads of State (CHS) meeting.
“The issue is about pipeline gas supplies from Russia to Pakistan, which is also possible, which means part of infrastructure has already been created, meaning Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. We have to solve the Afghan issue,” Putin was quoted as saying by Russia’s state-run news agency.
“Of course, there are problems connected with political stability, but having in mind our mutually good relations with the Afghan people, I hope this problem can also be solved, I mean Pakistan’s influence on the situation in the country.”
The long-delayed gas pipeline — the Pakistan Stream gas project, also known as the North-South gas pipeline — is to be built in collaboration with Russian companies.
The two countries agreed in 2015 to build a 1,100 km-long pipeline to deliver imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Karachi to power plants in Punjab province.
The pipeline’s designed annual capacity stands at 12.4 billion cubic metres (bcm), with the possibility to be increased to 16 bcm. The project, due to be launched in 2020, was delayed after Russian had to replace the initial participant, which was hit by Western sanctions.
“The prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to work closely with Russia to further expand and strengthen cooperation between the two countries across all areas of mutual benefit including food security, trade & investment, energy, defence and security,” a statement from Sharif’s office said. “The two sides agreed to convene the next meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) in Islamabad at an early date.”
Prime Minister Sharif also held a meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the SCO meeting and discussed issues of mutual interest. The meeting focused on strengthening Pak-Uzbek ties in diverse fields for the benefit of the two brotherly nations.
He also held wide-ranging talks with Tajikistan President Emamoli Rahmon, covering all aspects of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation including regional and international issues.
“Both leaders agreed to bolster and expand the scope of mutually beneficial fraternal ties,” Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said.
The Foreign Office said that President Rahmon extended profound sympathies and condolences over the loss of human lives and devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan and assured of Tajikistan’s full support in the efforts for relief and rehabilitation of the affected people.
Sharif thanked Tajikistan for its support to the flood victims in Pakistan and shared details of the devastation caused by the massive floods, induced by climate change.
Both leaders accorded particular focus on further strengthening reliable and constructive high-level contacts, inter-parliamentary ties, and defence and security relations between the two countries.
The Prime Minister underlined the importance of regular meetings of bilateral institutional mechanisms and the establishment of mutually beneficial cooperation in the implementation of energy projects. He also reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to timely completion of the important “CASA-1000” power transmission project.
He emphasised the expansion of cooperation in the field of road transportation and underscored the importance of connectivity. He underlined Pakistan’s readiness to facilitate the provision of access to Gwadar and Karachi to Tajikistan.
Prime Minister Sharif also met Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
