Govt to complete Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline soon: Miftah
Chairman Board of Investment (BoI) and Minister of State Dr Miftah Ismail on Friday said that Pakistan was keen to complete IranPakistan Gas Pipeline (IP) and in this regard, the government was engaged in negotiation with a Chinese company for building of a 200kilometer Nawabshah to Gwadar gas pipeline. He was talking to media after attending Pakistan-Iran Business Forum here at a local hotel. He said that the project of the gas pipeline from Nawabsah to Gwadar was likely to be completed within two years while the remaining 70 kilometer part of gas pipeline from Gwadar to the Iranian border would be completed within few months in the second phase.
The BOI Chairman said that after the completion of the IP Gas Pipeline, 250 million cubic feet gas would be imported from Iran during first year, while in the second year the import of gas would be enhanced to 500 million cubic feet while int the third year 750 million cubic feet gas would be imported.
Replying to a question, Miftah Ismail said that currently Iran and Pakistan had no formal trade but after the visit of the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani along with high profile business delegation, the bilateral trade was likely to be initiated formally. He said Pakistan would export textile, pharmaceutical products, value added agricultural and dairy products while Iran was interested to send petrochemical products, gas, steel and paper products.
Moreover, Minister of State and Chairman Board of Investment (BoI) Dr. Miftah Ismail on Friday called upon the Iranian businessmen for taking benefit from the liberal trade and friendly investment opportunities existing in all sectors of national economy. Addressing `Pak-Iran Investment Regime and Business Climate' conference, he said Pakistan and Iran was enjoying good political and economic relations. The Iranian trade and business delegation was headed by President Federation of Iranian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mohsin Jalal Puri. He said the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Pakistan has a strategic importance for the future relationship of both the countries.
It would also help strengthening and enhancing the bilateral trade and investment relations of the two countries as both sides shared common history and traditions, he added. Highlighting the salient feature of local economy, he said that overwhelming economic progress was witnessed during last two and half years as budget deficit came down from 8.2 percent to 4.3 percent besides remarkable increase in GDP growth of 4.4 percent and significant decrease in inflation from 12 percent to 2 percent. The economic performance was also recognized by international credit rating agencies and institutions including Moodi, Standard and Poors and JETRO, he added. The BoI Head informed the Iranian businessmen that Pakistan was blessed with natural and skilled human resources with second largest middle class which was also offering investment and trade opportunities for foreign investors. Earlier, briefing the delegates, Secretary BoI Azhar Ali Chaudhry said Pakistan was committed for regional trade integration by offering uniform trade and investment opportunities for local as well as foreign investors.