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In accordance with the Joint Press Statement of April 18, 2005, in New Delhi by the President of Pakistan, His Excellency General Pervez Musharraf and the Prime Minister of India, His Excellency Mr. Manmohan Singh, it was agreed that the Ministers of Petroleum and Natural Gas would meet to explore cooperation on the issue of pipelines. Accordingly, the Indian Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Panchayati Raj, Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, visited Pakistan at the invitation of H.E. Mr. Amanullah Khan Jadoon, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources of Pakistan, between June 5-7, 2005. The two Ministers discussed cooperation between India and Pakistan with regard to the import of gas through transnational pipelines.
In Islamabad, H.E. Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar had the honour of calling on H.E. President General Pervez Musharraf and H.E. Prime Minister Mr. Shaukat Aziz. He had a one-to-one meeting and delegation-level talks with H.E. Minister Mr. Amanullah Khan Jadoon. The two Ministers agreed that the transnational pipeline projects should be given top priority as there would be substantial advantage to both countries in pursuing and realizing cooperation in these projects, to serve their energy security interests, and to create linkages and interdependencies for establishing an enduring relationship between the two countries. They were of the shared view that, given the substantial requirements of gas of their countries, the processing of pipeline projects should be accelerated.
The Indian Minister explained to the Pakistani Minister India’s requirements of gas by pipeline and the arrangements worked out by India. The Pakistan side gave a detailed presentation of the position regarding supply and demand for natural gas in Pakistan and provided an overview of the gas sector economy. The Indian Minister thanked the Pakistani side for the detailed information provided and, in turn, provided some details of arrangements made by India to import LNG and agreed to share technical information and experience in this regard with the Pakistani side.
Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline: The two Ministers reviewed the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline proposal. They agreed that the project, which envisaged supply of gas to Pakistan and India through a transnational pipeline, would go a long way in meeting the energy security requirements of the two countries and, thus, should be seen as a significant project for the benefit of the peoples of these countries. The Indian and Pakistani delegations agreed to exchange information in regard to the financial structuring, technical, commercial, legal and related issues to realize a safe and secure world class project. To this end, it was agreed that the momentum pertaining to the project should be accelerated by constituting a Joint Working Group at the Secretary-level, which will meet regularly and report progress to the Ministers to facilitate definitive decisions by them, at the earliest.
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Pipeline: H.E. Mr. Amanullah Khan Jadoon provided the Indian Minister with details of this project in which the Indian side expressed interest. The Indian Minister confirmed that he would respond positively to an invitation to attend the next Steering Committee Meeting.
Gulf South Asia (GUSA) Pipeline: The Pakistani side outlined the parameters of the proposed GUSA project and India expressed interest in participating in this project.
The Indian Minister conveyed his gratitude to H.E. Mr. Amanullah Khan Jadoon for the warm hospitality and courtesy extended to him and his delegation throughout their stay in Pakistan. Minister Aiyar invited Minister Amanullah Kahn Jadoon to visit India to pursue transnational pipeline projects to maintain the momentum of dialogue and cooperation. The invitation was accepted. It was decided that H.E. the Pakistani Minister would visit India at his earliest convenience. It was also agreed that the Indian Minister would again visit Pakistan at mutual convenience later in the year. These visits would be preceded by meetings of the Joint Working Group, alternately in India and Pakistan, to discuss all issues relevant to the realization of world-class pipeline projects to meet the gas requirements of the two countries.
AK/SK/JA
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