PM renews commitment to IP gas line

In the backdrop of the US sanctions against Tehran, Pakistan has renewed its commitment to execute the much-awaited Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reinforced his commitment to execute the IP gas pipeline project during his meeting with the Iranian head-of-state on the side lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Samarkand. This was his first interaction at the 22nd annual heads-of-state of the SCO, held between September 15-16, 2022. Pakistan and Iran signed the revised Gas Sales Agreement (GSA) in September 2019 to avoid multi-million-dollar damages arising from the failure of completion of the IP gas pipeline project during the scheduled time. During a recent meeting of the cabinet, it was informed that the PM hosted bilateral engagements with 10 different heads-of-state on the side lines of the SCO summit. These included the leaders of China, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Iran, Belarus and Azerbaijan. The key focus of these bilateral meetings was to promote the Vision Central Asia policy which focuses on reinforcing Pakistan’s geo-economic push through regional connectivity. The prime minister also highlighted the devastation caused by the recent floods in Pakistan.