KARACHI: The United States on Friday expressed its interest in investing in renewable energy projects in Pakistan, only two days after a senior official in Washington said his country wanted to prevent the construction of a gas pipeline originating from Iran to the Pakistani port city of Gwadar.
Pakistan and Iran agreed to build the gas pipeline in 2009, but the project has been stalled due to American hostility to it along with international sanctions targeting the administration in Tehran.
However, Pakistan finds itself in a precarious situation since the bilateral agreement includes stipulations that can lead to financial penalties if either party fails to carry out the project.
US Ambassador Donald Blome held a meeting with Pakistan’s power minister Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari to discuss clean energy options for the country.
“The US Ambassador expressed interest of US-based Companies and DFC [US International Development Finance Corporation] in investing in renewable energy projects, aligning with Pakistan’s goal to double the share of renewables in its energy mix over the next 8-10 years under Sustainable Development Goal 7,” said a statement issued by the power ministry after the meeting.
“In addition, the US Ambassador highlighted the importance of upcoming Economic Dialogue in USA and requested a strong presence from Pakistan side,” it added.
The dialogue provides a structured forum where government officials, business leaders and experts from the United States and a partner country meet regularly to discuss economic issues, trade, investment and other areas of economic cooperation.
The specific nature and frequency of such dialogues can vary depending on the countries involved and the agreements they have in place.
Ambassador Blome’s interaction with Pakistan’s power minister follows US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu’s Congressional testimony wherein he discussed the Iran-Pakistan pipeline and said the US administration wanted to have a conversation with the government in Islamabad over it.
“What are Pakistan’s other [energy] alternatives,” he said during the hearing. “How can we compete for that business? Where can they find other non-Iranian sources of natural gas and how can we help Pakistan?”
He pointed out that Pakistan was “very interested” in making a transition to clean energy while suggesting the US could constructively play a role over there.
The Pakistani minister mentioned his country’s energy efficiency initiatives to reduce electricity consumption and promote energy conservation in the country.
He also requested for US assistance in unlocking the Green Climate Fund, established under the United Nations framework in 2010, to help Pakistan equip itself for the impending environmental challenges.
US shows interest in investing in Pakistan renewable energy with eye to counter Iran pipeline
https://arab.news/9ezt9
US shows interest in investing in Pakistan renewable energy with eye to counter Iran pipeline
- Pakistan’s power minister seeks US assistance in unlocking Green Climate Fund to prepare for environmental challenges
- The American envoy calls for a strong Pakistani presence at the upcoming economic dialogue over trade, investment in US
Pakistan says over 44.3 million children vaccinated as year’s first anti-polio drive concludes
- Pakistan launched this year’s first week-long anti-polio nationwide campaign on Feb. 2, targeting over 45 million children
- Pakistan’s attempts to eliminate polio have been hindered in past by militant attacks targeting polio workers, security teams
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health authorities have vaccinated over 44.3 million children during the week-long anti-polio nationwide campaign, the first of this year which concluded last week, the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said on Monday.
Pakistan launched the first anti-polio nationwide campaign on Feb. 2 to target over 45 million children. Over 400,000 trained polio workers took part in the door-to-door campaign to vaccinate children under the age of five against the disease, the government said.
“More than 44.3 million children were administered polio vaccine drops during the campaign,” the NEOC said in a statement.
The anti-polio campaign, which concluded on Sunday, saw over 22.9 million vaccinated in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province. In Sindh, over 10.5 million children were vaccinated, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 7.13 million, in Balochistan 2.36 million, in Islamabad over 455,000, in Gilgit-Baltistan over 261,000 and in Azad Kashmir over 673,000 in seven days, data shared by the NEOC said.
The center said that the campaign was conducted in Pakistan and Afghanistan simultaneously, the only two countries were the disease remains endemic.
Last year, Pakistan reported 31 polio cases, a significant drop from the alarming 74 cases reported in the country in 2024. The South Asian nation reported six cases in 2023 and only one in 2021, but saw a sharp resurgence in 2024.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have also frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, often resulting in deadly attacks, particularly in KP and Balochistan.
“Polio workers and security personnel who performed duties during the campaign are the nation’s true heroes,” the NEOC said.
