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Russia can send natural gas to Pakistani markets: Deputy PM Novak

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  • Russia can send gas either using Central Asian infrastructure or Iran.
  • Moscow ready to resume gas supplies to Europe through. 
  • Moscow discussing higher supplies of its gas to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Russia can send its natural gas to the markets of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told state TASS news agency. 

Novak said that Russia can send gas either using the infrastructure of Central Asia or in a swap from the territory of Iran. 

On December 5, Pakistan’s State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik said that talks with Russian private firms are underway for the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). He had added that Islamabad also engaged with Russia’s state LNG producers.

The state minister said that significant progress has been in talks over the pipeline projects with Moscow.

During talks on the gas pipeline projects, Moscow asked Pakistan to first honour its commitment to the flagship project of the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) to be laid down from Karachi to Lahore, Punjab.

In their response, the Pakistani team proposed to change the model of the PSGP project. The Russian side said that the model of the project under GtG (government-to-government) arrangement had already been settled, save for some clauses of the shareholding agreement, which would soon be finalised.

Meanwhile, on September 18, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also said “Russia has proposed its gas pipelines infrastructure has been extended to Central Asian states which can be extended to Pakistan through Afghanistan to provide gas supplies”. 

Russia to resume gas supplies to Europe

Moreover, the Russian deputy prime minister said that Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe through the Yamal-Europe Pipeline.

“The European market remains relevant, as the gas shortage persists, and we have every opportunity to resume supplies,” TASS cited Novak as saying in remarks published by the agency on Sunday.

“For example, the Yamal-Europe Pipeline, which was stopped for political reasons, remains unused.”

The Yamal-Europe Pipeline usually flows westward, but has been mostly reversed since December of 2021 as Poland turned away from buying from Russia in favour of drawing on stored gas in Germany.

In May, Warsaw terminated its agreement with Russia, after earlier rejecting Moscow’s demand that it pays in roubles.

Russian supplier Gazprom responded by cutting off supply and also said it would no longer be able to export gas via Poland after Moscow imposed sanctions against the firm that owns the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline.

Novak also reiterated that Moscow is discussing additional gas supplies through Turkey after a creation of a hub there.

He also said that Moscow expects it will have shipped 21 billion cubic metres (bcm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe in 2022.

“This year we were able to significantly increase LNG supplies to Europe,” Novak said. “In the 11 months of 2022 they increased to 19.4 bcm, by the end of the year 21 bcm are expected.”

In a wide-ranging interview with the TASS agency, parts of which have been published throughout the weekend, Novak also said that Russia has agreed with Azerbaijan to increase gas supplies for its domestic consumption.

“In the future, when they increase gas production, we will be able to discuss swaps,” he said.

Moscow is also discussing higher supplies of its gas to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, he said.

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Finance Minister: A “big” IMF program is coming for Pakistan.

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Speaking at the Karachi Stock Exchange ceremony, the Finance Minister announced that meetings with IMF representatives would take place in Washington on April 14 and 15.

He applauded the caretaker government’s effort to bring about economic stability and predicted that the nation’s economy would stabilize with improved economic policies.

Muhammad Aurangzeb emphasized that in order to move the country’s economy toward stabilization, structural reforms must be implemented.

He restated that the nation’s recovery from the economic crisis depends heavily on the stock market. The stock market is, nevertheless, trending upward.

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Pakistan is still classified as a secondary emerging market by the FTSE.

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The nation could perhaps be demoted, according to the worldwide index provider, since its index weight has decreased over the previous few years.

Pakistan’s market capitalization peaked in 2017 at $100 billion, but it fell to $21 billion by 2024, according to a Bloomberg research.

It did, however, state that Pakistan’s standing as a secondary emerging market will remain unchanged due to favorable political changes brought about by the establishment of a stable government.

Bloomberg saw Shehbaz Sharif’s election as prime minister, who is open to reform, as a step in the right direction for the nation struggling financially.

Shehbaz Sharif, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was chosen on March 4 to serve as the country’s 24th prime minister.

With 201 votes, PM Shehbaz defeated Omar Ayub Khan of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) by 92 votes.

over the economy, earlier this month, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came to an agreement at the staff level over the second and last review conducted under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement.

The IMF secured a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the second and final review of the nation’s stabilization program, which is backed by the IMF’s US$3 billion (SDR2,250 million) SBA authorized, according to the official statement released by an IMF team led by Nathan Porter.

The remaining US$1.1 billion (SDR 828 million) of SBA access will be made available following the IMF Executive Board’s approval of the deal.

It was reported shortly after the February 8 election that the newly elected PML-N-led government intended to apply for a new IMF credit package.

Pakistan is anticipated to pursue a $6–8 billion loan program from the global lender, and the IMF will be contacted right once to begin negotiations for this. The sources went on to say that the IMF would have tighter requirements this time.

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PM Shehbaz Sharif: “A plan to digitize the tax system is underway.”

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In an address to the All Pakistan Newspapers Society delegation in Islamabad today, the prime minister announced that plans were in motion to update the tax collection system.

The prime minister added that efforts are underway to broaden the revenue base and that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is fully digitizing.

He emphasized that the Tax Excellence Awards were a recent initiative by the government to support female entrepreneurs, exporters, and engaged taxpayers.

The government’s priorities, according to the prime minister, are institutional changes, austerity, domestic and external investment, and privatization of government-owned businesses.

Praiseing the media’s contribution to public awareness-raising and good governance, he called on the sector to successfully communicate the benefits of economic stability under SIFC.

Calling fake news a major problem, he emphasized the need for cooperation to combat it. Additionally, he extended an invitation to the press to back Pakistan’s administration in its endeavors for the country’s growth and well-being.

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