Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said it is discussing with Russia the "technical aspects" of the USD 2- billion North-South pipeline that will pump imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Karachi to Lahore, the first major Russian investment in Pakistan after decades.
Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Nafees Zakaria said the "negotiations are progressing well" on the gas pipeline.
He said the Russian Energy Minister was in Islamabad to discuss technical aspects and other related details of the gas pipeline.
The gas pipeline is the first major Russian investment in Pakistan after decades. Earlier, Russia had assisted Pakistan’s largest hydrocarbon explorer Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) in search for energy resources.
At the time of signing the deal in October 2015, Russia had agreed to lend USD 2 billion for the project.
On increasing military ties between the two former Cold War rivals, he said defence cooperation between Pakistan and Russia was an important component of their bilateral relations.
Zakarai also said that most of the countries have confirmed their participation in the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Summit to be held next month.
He said connectivity for prosperity is the main theme of the summit.
On Afghanistan, he said Pakistan is determined to bring lasting peace in the war-torn country and supports all steps taken in this direction.
He said the same commitment had been expressed at the Heart of Asia conference in Amritsar last year.
"Pakistan condemns in strongest terms the killing of six Afghan employees of the Red Cross in northern Afghanistan," he said.
He said Pakistan is likely to attend a meeting on Afghanistan which will be held in Moscow in April, as Islamabad has been invited for it.
He said the evolving situation in Afghanistan will be reviewed at the meeting.
Zakari also said that Pakistan enjoys longstanding relations with the US and wants to further strengthen these ties. He said two sides are constantly in contact with each other.
