Pakistan in ‘contact with US’ on energy requirements, FO says
- PM Shehbaz set to attend WEF meeting in Riyadh, FO says
- Talks with Iran on FTA underway, says Mumtaz Baloch.
- “Controlling export has become political,” she says.
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Friday said Pakistan was in contact with the United States regarding the country’s requirements for energy.
Addressing her weekly media briefing in Islamabad, the spokesperson said she had seen the US’s statement on Pakistan’s willingness to get energy from Iran.
Earlier this week, a State Department spokesperson had warned Islamabad regarding “potential risk of sanctions” following the Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Pakistan.
“We advise anyone considering business deals with Iran to be aware of the potential risk of sanctions,’ the spokesperson said.
Baloch, on the other hand, maintained that cooperation for trade on preferential basis was present between Pakistan and Iran to fulfil the former’s crucial necessities.
She said during President Raisi’s three-day visit, the matter of Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline was discussed and it was also reflected in the joint statement later. Both countries cogitated about energy and electricity trade, she added.
In a 28-point joint statement on April 24, Pakistan and Iran had reiterated the importance of energy cooperation and electricity trade, despite the warning of potential sanctions hinted at by the United States following Raisi’s visit.
After the Iranian head of state had departed for Tehran from Karachi, the FO issued a joint statement, sharing details about bilateral agreements, including plans pertaining to the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project, set forth by both the two nations.
The FO’s statement came a day after the US State Department had hinted at the risk of sanctions in light of the business deals between both nations.
Baloch also said that talks with Iran on free trade agreement were underway. “We think that controlling export has become political,” she said.
The FO spokesperson said Pakistan discussed about the trade route between Gwadar and Chabahar ports with the Iranian president. She said the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran were strong.
On Israel’s atrocities in Palestine, Baloch said Pakistan condemned Israel’s barbarism in Palestine and sought international investigation of Palestinians’ ethnic cleansing by the apartheid state. She said Pakistan and Iran had the same stance on the issue of Gaza and Kashmir.
She rubbished the “2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices” issued by the US State Department. She said a suitable procedure was not adopted in preparation of the report.
Shehbaz, Dar to attend World Economic Forum on Sunday
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar will attend the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from April 28 to 29, 2024.
They have received the invitations from Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Professor Klaus Schwab.
High level participation in the forum will provide an important opportunity to present Pakistan’s priorities specifically in global health architecture, inclusive growth, revitalising regional collaboration and the need for striking a balance between promoting growth and energy consumption.
On the margins of the main event, the prime minister and the foreign minister will hold bilateral meetings with world leaders, heads of international organisations bodies and other leading personalities participating in the event.
Moreover, PM Shehbaz will participate in the 15th OIC Summit being held in Banjul, the Gambia on from May 4 to 5, 2024.
The summit is being convened at a critical time for the Muslim Ummah as the war on the people of Gaza continues unabated. It would be an important occasion for the OIC leaders to deliberate upon the deteriorating situation in Gaza and project a strong, collective and unified stance on the Palestinian question.
At the summit, the PM will speak about Pakistan’s grave concern on the genocide in Gaza, the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu & Kashmir, imperatives of solidarity and unity of the Ummah, rising Islamophobia and terrorism and other contemporary global issues. He will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of the Islamic world on the margins of the summit.
The summit will be preceded by the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting from May 2 to 3, 2024. Dar will attend the CFM. On the side-lines of the CFM, the foreign minister will meet with his counterparts from other OIC countries.
