Islamabad, 21 January 2023 (GNP): After the end of the annual inter-governmental commission between Russia and Pakistan, it was agreed that Russia will export crude oil to Pakistan starting from March this year.
The news was confirmed by Minister of State for Petroleum, Musadik Malik who said that Pakistan will import 35% of its total crude oil requirement from Russia. He also revealed that during the talks with Russia, the Pakistani state wanted LNG however, Russia didn’t have it.
The two parties agreed to further energy trade and broaden energy infrastructure investment based on strategic and favourable commercial terms as well.
Also Read: Saudi Arabia up for investing more in Pakistan
As stated by an official from Pakistan’s side: “Both sides have agreed to work on a ‘Comprehensive Plan for Energy Cooperation’ which would form the foundation for future work and is to be finalised in 2023.”
The Russian side was invited toward potential projects of the federal and provincial governments of Pakistan, including in public-private partnership mode, and requested the Russian businessmen to explore these possibilities.
According to the collaborative statement during the meeting: “Both sides have resolved the pending issues related to the exchange of information on certificates of origin of goods with the use of an electronic verification system and shall endeavour to finalise the above-mentioned protocols by the end of May 2023.”
The statement further read: “In the context of the desire of both parties to promote regional integration and Eurasian connectivity, the two sides agreed to share information towards developing and improving rail and road infrastructure.”
