TEHRAN, May 12 (UPI) -- Negotiations over a Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline are close to completion, a Pakistani cabinet minister said Thursday.
The $7 pipeline would run from iran through Pakistan to India.
The Pakistani government has been working to keep up with its fast-growing economy and future needs by seeking to gain gas imports from Iran, Turkmenistan and Qatar, Ali Jatoi, Pakistani Water and Power minister, told the Pakistan Development Forum in Islamabad, Iran's official IRNA agency reported.
The government is already importing electricity from Iran for the Mekran Coastal Area in southwestern Baluchestan to meet electricity requirements. Jatoi also said Islamabad is working to import electricity from Tajikistan via Afghanistan.
To bulk up infrastructure, Pakistan is also working to improve its national transport system and road, rail, ports and aviation network to provide quality facilities and trade. Jatoi said the country's share of international trade would increase from 0.5 percent to 1 percent with these changes.
