Three pronged Pakistan- Russia understanding

Pakistan and Russia have signed three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for expanding Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), upgrading Pakistan Railways and cooperation in the water and power projects.
Unveiling the details of the agreements at a press conference here on Tuesday, Minister of State and Chairman Board of Investment (BoI) Saleem H. Mandviwala said that the MoU regarding the PSM mainly dealt with cooperating in the project of its modernization, reconstruction and building production capacity up to 2.5 million ton. He said that the Russian Company Tyazhpromexport helped Pakistan to establish the PSM.
Mandviwala said that Russia would provide both technical and financial assistance in all the projects. “In the PSM’s expansion project, Russia is likely to provide assistance of about USD $350 to $500 million, which is expected to be signed within 60 days”, he added.
The BoI Chairman said that the Russian company would carry out the technical audit.
Talking about the second MoU, which pertained to upgrading the Pakistan Railways infrastructure, Mandviwala said that a delegation of Russian company, Transmashholding, during its recent visit to Pakistan, was informed about the upcoming tenders for supply of passenger carriages and exploring opportunities for joint ventures for the carriages’ production.
The Russian company had also invited the Pakistan Railways officials to visit its facilities, he added. According to the third MoU for cooperation in the water and power sector, Russia has showed interest to invest in many projects, especially in Muzaffargarh and Jamshoro power plants, he added.
Mandviwala hoped that the MoUs would become a milestone in the bilateral relations of the two countries. By inking the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), Russia has complemented mutual efforts for enhancing cooperation in various development projects launched by Pakistan, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Yuri M. Kozlov, Chief Trade Representative of Russia in Pakistan, termed the Russian delegation’s visit successful.