Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline critical for CPEC’s energy needs: envoy

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan, Mehdi Honardoost, terming Pak-Iran gas pipeline indispensable for China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC’s) energy needs and success, has revealed that they had over 400 years of gas resources available in Iran and Pakistan continues to be their most desired market.

He was speaking at an exclusive session hosted by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad. The session was chaired by Ambassador (retd) Khalid Mehmood, chairman of Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI); the Institute’s research team and senior associates were also present on the occasion.

Speaking of CPEC, Mehdi Honardoost said that the Chinese initiative should not only be seen as a trade or business venture but as a destiny changer for the whole region, whereas the development of Pak-Iran gas pipeline can play a vital role in fulfilling the venture’s power related requirements. He said that Iran had already done its part in extending the pipeline to the Pakistani border and we are looking forward to Pakistan that it will be completing its part soon to serve its own national interests.

The Iranian ambassador said that Iran and Pakistan were historically and culturally one nation, having several commonalities in their concerns as well as interests. He stressed that the two nations should be working together in areas like trade, energy, and regional peace as such cooperation will only yield mutually beneficial rewards.

Ambassador (retd) Khalid Mehmood, having served as a Pakistani diplomat in Iran, said that Pakistan and Iran have stood by each other in difficult times. There have been some ups and downs in their association at times but the essential relationship between the two countries has always remained intact. “Like China, Pakistan’s relationship with Iran is also time-tested”, he remarked.

He said that the destinies of both the countries were intertwined and they should be looking forward to improving cooperation in different areas in the coming days. The development of Gwadar-Nawabshah pipeline could facilitate the early progression and pave way for future headway in this regard.