ISLAMABAD, 27 November 2021, (TON): An official statement said “in a major development, Pakistan and Russia agreed on “discussion draft” of the shareholders' agreement for the Special Purpose Company (SPC) for construction of the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) project and resolved to sign the agreement by February 15, 2022.”

The above mentioned and several other agreements were signed as protocol in the seventh meeting of the Russian-Pakistani Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation being held in Yekaterinburg, Russia on November 24-26, 2021.

The Pakistani delegation was headed by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Omer Ayub Khan. Other members of the delegation included Secretary Economic Affairs Division Mian Asad Hayauddin, Pakistan Ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan, Pakistan Embassy Trade Wing and representatives of Ministries of Energy, FBR, Commerce and other relevant ministries.

The Russian side was headed by Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Nikolai Shulginov and included representatives of energy, trade, economy, agriculture, railways and others.

Pakistan and Russia further agreed to develop and sign the facilitation agreement for the PSGP by February 15, 2022, and to sign statutory documents of the SPC for the construction of the pipeline by January 31, 2022.

The 1,100-kilometre-long project, formerly known as the North-South Pipeline, plans to carry 12.4 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually. The project name was changed to 'Pakistan Stream' along with its partnership structure against the risk of US sanctions on Russian companies.