KARACHI: Pakistan and Russia on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Moscow for the construction of the marine gas pipeline, the Russian Ministry of Energy confirmed to Arab News.
“Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Anatoly Yanovsky and Deputy Minister of Energy of Pakistan Sher Afgan-Khan signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Energy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on cooperation in implementing the offshore pipeline project,” the ministry said in a statement issued after the signing of the agreement.
According to the agreement the gas from fields in Iran will be supplied to consumers in Pakistan and India. “I think this will create additional conditions for the signing of the same document with the Indian side,” said Yanovsky.
“The Memorandum provides for the identification of authorized organizations through which the project will be supported, including when developing a feasibility study — identifying the resource base, configuration and route of the gas pipeline,” the statement added.
The deputy minister noted that the interaction between Russia and Pakistan in the fuel and energy sector is not limited to the offshore pipeline project: in particular, consultations are being held on the North-South gas pipeline project.
According to Anatoly Yanovsky, the project of LNG supplies to the Pakistan can become a promising direction of cooperation. An intergovernmental agreement on the supply of oil products from Russia to Pakistan is also under consideration. In addition, the Russian electric power industry has also shown interest in the Pakistani market.
Pakistan and Russia have signed the agreement at a time when the United States of America is mounting pressure on the countries to not deal with Iran. “It is a bold call which shows that Pakistan is not going to bow to the US threats,” said Muzamil Aslam, senior economist, adding: “This could have repercussions as the US may pressurize Pakistan through other countries and may induce its investors withdraw their investment from Pakistan stock market.”
The underwater pipeline is expected to be completed within three to four years of the signing of the agreement. The pipeline could supply from 500 million cubic feet to 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
A feasibility study of the project will be conducted by Russian energy giant Gazprom. The project will be jointly handled by Pakistan’s state-owned Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS) and Gazprom.
The ISGS is currently engaged on mega gas pipeline schemes such as the $10 billion Turkmenistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan – India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, which aims to bring natural gas from the Gylkynish and adjacent gas fields in Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
The Asian Development Bank is acting as the facilitator and coordinator for the TAPI project. The feasibility study, proposed to lay a 56-inch diameter 1,000-mile pipeline with design capacity of 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per annum (Bcfd) [IS THIS PER DAY OR PER ANNUM] from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan up to the Indian border. The project is scheduled to commence operations in 2020.
The increased supply of gas to Pakistan will have positive impact on the economy of the country, said Muzamil Aslam commented. “Pakistan’s energy needs would be met and our industries, particularly export industry, will benefit to large extent and employment opportunities would also increase.”
Pakistan, Russia sign MoU for construction of $10 billion marine gas pipeline
Pakistan, Russia sign MoU for construction of $10 billion marine gas pipeline
- The gas from fields in Iran will be supplied to consumers in Pakistan and India through the marine pipeline
- Development is a bold call in the face of mounting pressure on Iran which shows Pakistan’s resilience, Muzamil Aslam
Pakistan IT exports rise nearly 20 percent to $2.61 billion in first seven months of fiscal year
- January ICT exports climb to $374 million year-on-year
- Sector remains country’s top-earning services export
KARACHI: Pakistan’s information and communication technology (ICT) export earnings rose 19.78 percent year-on-year to $2.61 billion in the first seven months of the fiscal year ending June 2026, the IT ministry said on Tuesday, highlighting the sector’s growing role as a source of foreign exchange.
Pakistan’s IT and IT-enabled services sector has emerged as one of the country’s fastest-growing sources of foreign exchange, generating over $3 billion annually and employing roughly a million freelancers in addition to formal software firms.
Unlike traditional manufacturing exports, the industry relies primarily on remote digital labor, from software development to back-office services, making it resilient during economic crises but constrained by payment barriers, talent migration and infrastructure reliability challenges. However, IT services require minimal imports and benefit from a large pool of young workers and freelancers, making the sector central to government plans to boost dollar inflows and reduce pressure on the balance of payments.
“ICT export remittances surged 19.78 percent, reaching $ 2.61 billion during the first seven months of FY 2025-26 compared to $ 2.18 billion achieved during the corresponding period last year,” the IT ministry said in a statement.
Monthly exports also expanded, with ICT services exports reaching $374 million in January 2026, up 19.5 percent from $313 million a year earlier, according to the ministry’s data.
The ministry said ICT remained the country’s highest-earning services sector, well ahead of “other business services,” which generated $1.21 billion over the same July-January period.
Pakistan has increasingly relied on technology exports, including software development, outsourcing and freelance services, to generate foreign exchange as the economy adjusts under structural reforms and tight import controls following a balance-of-payments crisis.
Officials say continued growth will depend on easing payment bottlenecks, improving digital infrastructure and expanding higher-value technology services beyond traditional outsourcing.
