Iranian nevoy hopes for rapid implementation of economic projects with Pakistan

Iranian Ambassador to Islamabad Alireza Haqiqian in a meeting with Advisor to Pakistani Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz expressed the hope that the two countries' joint economic ventures will come into operation soon. During the meeting in Islamabad on Saturday, Haqiqian expressed pleasure in the expansion of the good relations between Iran and Pakistan in the political, cultural and economic fields, and underlined Tehran's determination to cooperate with the new Pakistani government. He also expressed the hope that the two countries' joint economic plans and projects would be put into action at the earliest under the guidance of the new Iranian and Pakistani leaders. During the meeting, the two sides also stressed the necessity for using all mechanisms to further develop and expand mutual cooperation between Iran and Pakistan. Haqiqian's remarks alluded to the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline deal which is due to transfer Iran's rich gas reserves to its energy-hungry neighbor. In related remarks earlier this month, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Azaz Ahmed Chaudhry underlined that the new government of Pakistan will honor the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline deal. "The project to transfer Iranian natural gas to Pakistan needs to be implemented, one way or another, to settle the energy crisis in the country," Ahmed Chaudhry said in his weekly press conference in Islamabad on Thursday. The Pakistani diplomat noted that Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is the key option to relieve energy shortages in Pakistan. Iran and Pakistan in March officially inaugurated the construction phase of a gas pipeline project which is due to take Iran's rich gas reserves to the energy-hungry South Asian nation. The project kicked off in a ceremony attended by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari at the two countries' shared border region in Iran's Southeastern city of Chabahar. The 2700-kilometer long pipeline was to supply gas for Pakistan and India which are suffering a lack of energy sources, but India has evaded talks. In 2011, Iran and Pakistan declared they would finalize the agreement bilaterally if India continued to be absent in the meeting. According to the project proposal, the pipeline will begin from Iran's Assalouyeh Energy Zone in the south and stretch over 1,100 km through Iran. In Pakistan, it will pass through Baluchistan and Sindh but officials now say the route may be changed if China agrees to the project.