Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is going to Azerbaijan today (Wednesday) to secure spot LNG delivery from Baku. He is going there on invitation of President Ilham Aliyev.
Pakistan announced a monthly LNG transport agreement with Azerbaijan and two spot LNG tenders after nearly a year.
Pakistan’s dependency on gas for power generation. As well as low foreign exchange reserves have made it impossible to buy spot cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up worldwide prices.
On Tuesday, Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik said that Azerbaijan would ship Pakistan a monthly LNG cargo at a lower price. Malik stated that Azerbaijan has inked a supply arrangement and that deliveries would begin soon.
Moreover, Power outages were prevalent. Asian spot LNG prices fell from $70/mmBtu in August to below $10 this year.
The prime minister’s entourage would also include Azerbaijan’s priority cooperation ministries.
The premier will discuss energy, commerce, and investment with the Azerbaijani president during his visit.
While, Multilateral forums will examine regional and global topics of mutual interest and collaboration.
“Pakistan-Azerbaijan relationship is embedded in commonalities of faith, culture and history, and strengthened by mutual trust and convergence of views on regional and global matters,” the FO statement added.
The minister stated that frequent leadership-level encounters strengthen the friendship between Pakistan and Azerbaijan and promote multidimensional cooperation for the benefit of both nations.
Moreover, On Wednesday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) will meet with Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar to discuss approving the third shipment of distressed LNG from UK-based Azerbaijani firm SOCAR.
