India, Pak could move ahead by promoting trade ties: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif

LAHORE: Pakistani authorities will take practical steps to seek India's cooperation to control power outages across the country, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said.

Sharif, the younger brother of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and a member of the federal Cabinet Committee on Energy, made the remarks during a meeting with a visiting Indian energy delegation.

He welcomed the interest shown by India in cooperating with Pakistan in the energy sector, saying the two countries could move ahead by promoting trade and economic relations.

The Indian delegation, comprising experts from the electricity and gas sectors, called on Sharif at his Model Town residence yesterday.

Members of the delegation also met federal Power Minister Khwaja Asif in Islamabad yesterday to discuss a proposal for importing 500 MW of electricity from India.

During the meeting with Chief Minister Sharif, Indian experts provided a briefing on a project for setting up a power transmission line from Amritsar to Lahore and a gas pipeline from Jalandhar to Jallo.

Pakistani experts present at the meeting submitted their proposals regarding the project.

The two sides agreed to promote cooperation in electricity and gas sectors and Sharif said a delegation of Pakistani energy experts will soon visit India to further explore possibilities for cooperation.

He said the proposals put forward at the meeting will be presented to the Prime Minister.

Pakistan and India have to move forward on the road to progress and prosperity by acting on the principles of peaceful co-existence, Sharif said.

The goal of progress and development of India and Pakistan cannot be achieved without giving a chance to peace, he said.

Deputy High Commissioner Gopal Baglay, who was part of the Indian delegation, expressed the hope that relations between India and Pakistan will improve under the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Joint Secretary Rita Acharya of the Power Ministry, officials of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, GAIL, Central Electricity Authority and Power Grid Corporation of India are part of the Indian delegation.