Pakistani and Russian officials held talks to increase energy cooperation between the two countries and Moscow to provide long-term oil and natural gas supplies to Islamabad.
Pakistan and Russia plan to increase energy cooperation
According to the news in the national media, the 8th Session of the Pakistan-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economy, Science and Technology continued on its second day in the capital Islamabad.
In the session, Pakistani Deputy Minister of Energy for Petroleum Musadiq Masud Malik met with Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov.
During the meeting, bilateral economic and commercial relations were discussed, and ways of Moscow’s long-term oil and natural gas supply to Islamabad were discussed.
While both sides agreed on the importance of the energy sector to develop bilateral economic and commercial relations, the natural gas pipeline project planned to be built in Pakistan was also reviewed.
After the session that will end tomorrow, a protocol is expected to be signed between the two countries.
Natural gas pipeline project stuck with sanctions
Pakistan wants to start the construction of the natural gas pipeline in line with the agreement signed with Russia in 2015.
With this agreement, it is aimed to build a natural gas pipeline with a length of approximately 1100 kilometers between the cities of Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan, but due to the risk of sanctions by the USA on some Russian companies in the project consortium, the partnership structure of the project was changed in 2020 and the name of the project was “Pakistan Stream”. was determined as.
The project, worth $2.5 billion, was expected to start last year. Experts consider it unlikely that the construction of the project will start soon due to international sanctions on Moscow.
“Russia sees Pakistan as an important partner in South Asia and the Islamic world”
Russian Energy Minister Shulginov was also received by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore.
Shulginov presented the special message that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent to Prime Minister Sharif here.
In the statement made by the Prime Minister’s Office, it was stated that in the message sent by Putin, “Russia sees Pakistan as an important partner in South Asia and the Islamic world. Russia reiterates its strong interest in deepening bilateral relations with Pakistan.”
During his meeting with Shulginov, Prime Minister Sharif noted that his country attaches importance to bilateral relations with Russia and that they are willing to increase their relations in matters related to trade, economy and investment.
Pakistani delegation visited Moscow in November 2022
During his visit to Moscow in November 2022, Pakistan Deputy Energy Minister for Petroleum Malik announced that Russia had decided to supply Islamabad with discounted crude oil and fuel oil.
Emphasizing that progress has been made regarding the natural gas pipeline projects planned to be built in Pakistan between the two countries, Malik noted that a delegation from Russia would visit Islamabad.
