Pakistani Minister of Privatization Mohammed Zubair said on Sunday that his country plans to import fuel from Iran after the completion of its joint gas pipeline project with the country.
"The Pakistan-Iran relations are not merely restricted to the completion of the gas pipeline and we aim to import fuel from our western neighbor," Zubair told FNA in Islamabad.
He underlined that imports of fuel form Iran curbs its trafficking that would be in both sides' favor.
Zubair added that Islamabad currently imports electricity from Iran and seeks to boost bilateral trade turnout.
The Pakistani minister referred to his country's potential in textile and agriculture, and called for Iranians to make investments in these sectors.
Last week, Pakistani Commerce Minister Khorram Dastgir Khan said that Islamabad has not abandoned its gas pipeline project with Iran and aims to complete it in future.
"After the termination of the western-led sanctions against Iran in near the future, Pakistan will pursue the completion of the project at a rapid pace," Dastgir Khan told FNA in Islamabad.
He underscored that Pakistan's incumbent government is resolved to strengthen relations with Tehran particularly in the fields of commerce and energy.
Iran and Pakistan officially inaugurated the construction of the border part of the multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline project in March, 2013.
The 2700-kilometer long pipeline was to supply gas for Pakistan and India which are suffering a lack of energy sources, but India has evaded talks. In 2011, Iran and Pakistan declared they would finalize the agreement bilaterally if India continued to be absent in the meeting.
Iran has already built 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its own soil and is waiting for the 700-kilometer Pakistani side of the pipeline to be constructed.
The IP pipeline is designed to help Pakistan overcome its growing energy needs at a time when the country of over 180 million people is grappling with serious energy shortages.
According to the project proposal, the pipeline begins from Iran's Assalouyeh Energy Zone in the South and stretches over 1,100 km through Iran. In Pakistan, it will pass through Baluchistan and Sindh but officials now say the route may be changed if China agrees to the project.