Pakistan wants to invite Gazprom to help construct the Iran-Pakistan Pipeline. A delegation of the largest energy companies and related ministries will visit Moscow in the near future for negotiations, ITAR-TASS reports.
The Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline will be 2,700 km long, developed in 2005. It will run from Iran through Pakistan to India. India left the project after US pressure, noting security problems of the pipeline.
Pakistan expects Russia and China to assist in realizing the project. Spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Abdul Basit says that the project should be completed by 2014.
Pakistan is suffering from an energy crisis. It faces an annual energy deficit and fuel consumption is falling by 4% every year. Unemployment is increasing by 10% annually.
In this case, Islamabad wants to complete the project. Pakistan said that it does not fear US sanctions for cooperating with Iran. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani formed a special working group to study the risks of such sanctions. The group may use foreign legal experts for its studies.
