On Friday, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik stated that Pakistan and Russia have entered into an agreement regarding the export of crude oil. The timeline has been set for late march, and Pakistan will import 35 percent of its crude oil from Russia.
The 8th session of the Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation released a joint statement announcing that Pakistan and Russia have finally reached an agreement regarding the pricing structure for trading oil and gas by March 2023. The session was held in Islamabad on January 18-20, 2023.
The session was presided over by Ayaz Sadiq, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs of Pakistan, and Nikolay Shulginov, the Minister of Energy for the Russian Federation. Other senior-level delegates, including Ministers and officials from both sides, also attended the Session.
The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to a strong and comprehensive economic relationship upon the direction of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Once the technical specifications had been agreed upon, both sides settled that the oil and gas trade transaction would be structured so it would have a mutual economic benefit for both countries. March 2023 is the deadline for the process to be completed.
Matters Other Than Crude Oil
Both parties agreed to expand and improve collaboration in trade and investment, energy, communication and transportation, higher education, railways, finance and banking sector, industry, agriculture, science and technology, customs, and information technology.
Both Pakistan and Russia discussed feasible and practical plans to be implemented in the aforementioned sectors of the economy, which have enormous potential for both countries’ socioeconomic development. The Commission also agreed on the fact that the relevant ministries and departments on both sides should work hard to capitalize on this opportunity for mutual prosperity.
Other documents that were also signed during this session were:
- Agreement regarding Cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs matters between the Government of the Russian Federation & the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
- Protocol on the exchange of documents and data on the Customs value of goods transported between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
- Working agreement on Airworthiness of Aeronautical products.
