President hopes for early completion of Iran-Pak gas and power projects

Expressing desire for the acceleration of Iran-Pakistan Gas pipeline and 1000 MW Taftan-Quetta Power Transmission line projects, President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said Pakistan wanted expansion of ties with Iran in trade, energy, communication and other sectors.
Masha’allah Shakeri, ambassador of Iran, today paid farewell call on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr, according to an official statement.
The president while talking to the outgoing ambassador lauded his valuable services in further strengthening bilateral relations of Pakistan with Iran. He said, “We greatly appreciate your services and diplomatic skills in not only promoting our bilateral relations but also for providing momentum to various ongoing projects between the two countries.”
Hoping that the pace of progress in various projects of mutual benefit such as Iran-Pakistan Gas pipeline and 1000 MW Taftan-Quetta Power Transmission line would be further accelerated in the near future, the president said Pakistan attached great importance to its relations with Iran and was eager for early materialisation of the ongoing projects.
He said that due to geo-strategic locations Pakistan and Iran were poised to play a key role in promotion of intra-regional and inter-regional connectivity which he termed as a key to the socio-economic development of the region. He said with this objective in mind, there was a need to forge a multifaceted partnership for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
The president also expressed the hope that the future would witness further deepening of bilateral cooperation in all important areas particularly trade, energy, security, communication and infrastructure.
The president wished the outgoing ambassador success in his future life. Ambassador Shakeri thanked the president for meeting and expressed hope that the momentum of friendship and brotherly relations would be further strengthened by his successor.