Russia and Pakistan are going to sign a technical contract soon to proceed with the $2.5 billion Karachi-Lahore energy pipeline project, said a top diplomat here at Russian Consulate on Tuesday. Also, the two countries have engaged each other on the defence front with Pakistan having finalised a multimillion dollars deal with Russia for the purchase of four MI-35 helicopters. The combat helicopters would be used by Pakistan Army in its ongoing anti-terrorist operations named as Zarb-i-Azb.
Believing in peaceful regional solutions, Moscow and Islamabad share common views on the war-torn Afghanistan where Consul General Oleg N. Avdeev confirmed his government had been "exchanging information" with Taliban insurgents to contain the newly-emergent Islamic State (IS) group.
"Russian Representative on Afghan Affairs has said (reportedly) that we have been exchanging information but Taliban went in denial," the Consul General told a press briefing here while summing up developments involving Pakistan and Russian during the "eventful" 2015. A "big shift", Oleg said, had taken place in Russio-Pakistan trade and economic ties since October when the two sides signed in Islamabad an "Intergovernmental Agreement" (IA) which envisages Moscow to invest around $2 billion in building an 1100 kilometers long LNG pipeline from Karachi to Lahore.
It would be so far the largest investment Russia has made in the energy-starved Pakistan which has been weighing different options for a potential LNG import deal with the world's second largest producer of the Liquefied Natural Gas. "This energy pipeline project would be a landmark," the Consul General said adding after the IA between the two countries was due, tentatively in February- March, to ink a technical contract to pave the way for the implementation of the LNG pipeline venture. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin for the groundbreaking of the project which would complete by 2020.
The Russian diplomat, however, told a questioner that Sharif's invitation has been conveyed to Putin, but the date for his (Putin) long-awaited visit to Pakistan was yet to be finalized. Explaining the technical contract, Oleg said: "What would be done when and at what stage is all a technical contract covers. This would be a kind of guideline for the businessmen and engineers to execute the project."
"Russia would invest 85 percent and Pakistan 15 percent of the project cost," said the soft-spoken diplomat who is fluent in Urdu. Dwelling on just-started bilateral defence ties, he said in past representatives of both countries' armed forces used to meet and talk but without making any business deals. "Now we have very specific deals," Consul Oleg said referring to Pakistan buying MI-35 helicopters from his country. The trade, he said, took place after IDEAS 2015 when Pakistani defence officials had shown interest in the war choppers. Asked if more such sales were in line, the diplomat replied in affirmative but said Pakistan first had to determine to what extent Russian military hardware was compatible to its own.
To a question of strategic nature, the Consul General said "we have no objection" to Pakistan's inclusion in the Saudi Arabia led 34-state military alliance. "President Putin also has mentioned it in an article. We don't see any danger in this coalition if it contributes to bringing peace in Syria," he said.
Oleg told Business Recorder that Islamabad had been discussing with Moscow possibilities for LNG import in future. "Yes they discussed it during governmental commission," he said adding the possibility for LNG import was here as Pakistan had built an LNG terminal at Port Qasim. Citing obstacles in business relations between the two nations, he underlined the absence of banking facilities on each other's soil and unfavorable customs duties on certain textile and agriculture products. The bilateral trade volume, he said, stood at a meagre $500 million.
"This would be about a billion dollars if numbers for the indirect trade are included in it," the Consul General said. Pakistan also exported textile items to Russia through Germany, Singapore and other third countries, he revealed. Summing up Russio-Pakistan relations, the diplomat said the bilateral politico-economic and diplomatic ties were "undoubtedly heading for a very promising future."
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