ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday called upon Iran to consider provision of crude oil for at least one year on the deferred payment basis to help Pakistan tide over its current economic difficulties.
Talking to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at the Prime Minister’s House, Mr Gilani said the two countries should initiate work on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project bilaterally, without waiting for India.
Tehran had agreed to consider the request for deferred payments, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said after talks with his Iranian counterpart. “The Iranian foreign minister has assured us that Tehran will consider our request. If that is done and Pakistan gets this facility it would help stabilise the situation and ease the balance of payments.”
During his meeting with Mr Mottaki, the prime minister proposed the setting up of a financing company for the IPI project. An agreement on gas sales and purchase might be signed as early as possible, he added.
Referring to economic relations between Pakistan and Iran, the prime minister regretted that despite existence of an institutional framework, bilateral economic and trade relations remained far below potential.
Mr Mottaki stressed the need for strengthening cooperation in defence, intelligence, trade, investment and culture. He said the stability and security of Iran and Pakistan were interlinked.
The foreign minister extended an invitation by Iran’s First Vice-president Pervaiz Davoodi to Mr Gilani for visiting Tehran.
“Mr Davoodi desires to host the prime minister in the Iranian province of Gilan, from where Mr Gilani’s ancestors migrated to the Sub-continent.” The meeting was attended, among others, by Foreign Minister Qureshi and Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan.
TALKS BETWEEN FMS: Although there was no breakthrough during talks between the two foreign ministers, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Manouchehr Mottaki told journalists that Tehran and Islamabad were ready to proceed with the project on a bilateral basis.
“Iran and Pakistan have expressed desire to finalise the gas pipeline project and exporting gas bilaterally. Whenever the third party (India) is ready it can join us. This will help us avoid wastage of further time,” Mr Mottaki told a joint press conference at the Foreign Office.
Mr Qureshi said: “Keeping in view energy requirements of Pakistan and the energy deficiency situation in the country, we feel that it (the project) should not be delayed any further.”.
“India is welcome to join this project at a subsequent stage at their convenience.”
So far negotiations on the 2,775-kilometre project, estimated to cost $7.5 billion, have focused on all three countries __ Pakistan, Iran and India.
The talks are in limbo for the past 18 months because of differences between Islamabad and New Delhi over transit fee and transportation tariff to be charged by Pakistan for delivering the Iranian gas to India.
Talks held over the past few months, including an airdash by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Islamabad and New Delhi, were in vain.
Pakistan and Iran, too, have to iron out their differences over the project. However, it appeared at the press conference that the two sides did not want the pricing issue to hold up progress.
“I’m happy to report to you that four out of five issues about the project have been resolved between Iran and Pakistan. There is one issue of pricing that is still being discussed and we have decided to meet and resolve it at the earliest stage so that we can push this project forward,” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.
ELECTRICITY: Iran offered to provide 1000MW of electricity to Pakistan. The Iranian side also expressed interest in establishing power generation units in Pakistan.
Pakistan has already signed an MOU to purchase 1000MW from Iran. The new offer is in addition to that.
For providing electricity to Pakistan, Mr Mottaki said, Iran was ready to export energy to Pakistan or establish a power station within Pakistan.
SECURITY MATTERS: The two sides discussed the issue of peace along their border, which has been recently plagued with security problems.
“We discussed the issue of protecting the border so that people could travel without fear,” the Iranian foreign minister said.
Tehran and Islamabad agreed to hold talks on the situation in Afghanistan. Mr Qureshi would soon travel to Tehran for the purpose.
NA SPEAKER: In her meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza said Pakistan and Iran shared views and perceptions on most regional and global issues.
She said the Ummah could face challenges only through unity.
She said there were misperceptions in the West about Islam and urged ulema and media to play their role to dispel the misgivings.
Mr Mottaki said the Muslim world needed to join hands to combat terrorism and “Islam-phobia” in the west.
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