Pak committed to implementation of Iran gas pipeline project

President Asif Ali Zardari today said Pakistan is committed to the early implementation of a troubled gas pipeline project with Iran as the two countries resolved to enhance bilateral trade to five billion dollars.

Zardari reiterated Pakistan's commitment to the gas pipeline project during a meeting with visiting Iranian Vice President Ali Saeedlou.

Islamabad wants the early implementation of the venture to meet its "ever growing demand" for energy and power.

Pakistan's resource constraints can be overcome by "joining hands and enhancing cooperation in all areas, particularly trade and energy," he said.

Saeedlou said Iran had already laid the gas pipeline on its side of the border and is "ready for realization of the most important energy project", according to a statement issued by the presidency.

Besides the expeditious implementation of the gas pipeline, Pakistan wants to carry forward proposed projects for the 1,000MW Taftan-Quetta power transmission line and supply of 100MW from Iran to the Pakistani port city of Gwadar, Zardari said.

Zardari contended that Pakistan and Iran "were poised to play an important role in the promotion of intra-regional and inter-regional connectivity," which is key to the socio- economic development of the region.

"The destinies of regional countries were interlinked and we must work closely to overcome the challenges facing us.

Militancy and extremism remains one of the biggest and common threats that endanger regional as well as global peace," Zardari said.

Extremism and militancy need to be tackled collectively and it is "high time that the regional countries work together and extricate our people from the threat posed by extremists and a militant mindset," he said.

The Pakistan government is pursuing a trade liberalisation policy across the board and has proposed the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers between the two countries to boost trade and realise the true business potential, he said.

The recent agreement to expand the Pakistan-Iran Preferential Trade Agreement to include additional items is a welcome move to enhance trade links, he said.

Enhancing cooperation in energy, security, communication and infrastructure will help the two countries overcome challenges and increase bilateral trade to five billion dollars, which was "doable", he said.

Zardari further said opening a new border crossing at Gabd-Reemdan will connect southern parts of Pakistan’s Balochistan province and the financial hub of Karachi with Chah Bahar and Bandar Abbas in Iran through a coastal highway.

During discussions between Saeedlou and Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, the two sides resolved to enhance bilateral trade from the current level of 1.5 billion dollars to five billion dollars by exploring new avenues of cooperation.

Both sides also agreed to speed up work on ongoing projects, particularly the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and electricity projects to help Pakistan overcome an energy crisis.

Shaikh said several areas, including information technology and industrial development, were identified as priority sectors for cooperation.
The two sides also agreed to promote trade in commodities, including rice, fruits and vegetables, he said.

On the sidelines of the bilateral talks, businessmen from both countries also held discussions during which they resolved that tariff and non-tariff barriers should be removed to facilitate trade.