ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran on Thursday reaffirmed determination to
complete mega project of Gas Pipeline by 2014 as construction was
already underway on Iranian side.
“Iran would continue energy
cooperation with Pakistan,” said visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Dr
Ali Akbar Salehi while addressing a joint press conference with
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh. Earlier they signed
three MoUs in addition to minutes of the 2-day meeting of the Joint
Economic Commission.
According to the Iranian Foreign Minister,
they have completed 90 per cent construction of pipeline on their side
and hoped that it would reach the border within next one year. He was
of the view that eventually it would emerge to be the peace pipeline
and would reach to every country that needs gas from Iran.
He
was addressing a joint press briefing alongwith Finance Minister Abdul
Hafeez Sheikh here on Thursday after the signature of Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) between two sides.
Iranian Foreign Minister
Salehi said that the gas pipeline project would be named as ‘peace
pipeline’. He said that Iran has almost completed 90 percent of work on
the project inside her geographical limits and within one year it would
reach to Pak Iran border.
Responding a question he said that
Iran has attained self-reliance in nuclear fuel and has made uranium
with 20 per cent enrichment. According to the Minister, it was already
in knowledge of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and everyone
that is concerned.
Asked to comment on the threatening
statement of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, he said, “sometime some
statement does not deserve reaction. Iran is there for the last 3000
years and we have seen numerous of such statements and threats,” he
maintained.
Ali Akbar Salehi told the journalists that there is
a great potential to enhance trade volume between two countries to 5
billion dollars .He said that Pakistan and Iran are the important
players of the region and both have very crucial role in changing
scenario in the region.
On the occasion Finance Minister Hafiz
Sheikh said that Iran would provide 1100 megawatts of electricity to
Pakistan out of which 1000 mw would be put in national grid while
remaining 100 megawatts would be supplied to Gawader. He said that Iran
wants to increase road and rail links with Pakistan.
Hafiz
Sheikh said that to boost up the investment between Islamabad and
Tehran a joint investment fund would be established. He said that both
countries have principally agreed to enhance the cooperation in the
sectors of revenue, railways and road communications. Online
