Showing posts with label gas pipeline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gas pipeline. Show all posts

Thursday, 11 April 2024

Iranian president’s upcoming visit to Pakistan

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to officially visit Pakistan on April 22, 2024. 

This diplomatic engagement comes amidst heightened regional interest, particularly as Pakistan prepares to embark on the construction of a gas pipeline linking Gwadar port to the Iranian border in the near future, according to WION News.

In an interview with the Tehran Times on March 15, the Pakistani ambassador to Iran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, emphasized the importance of strengthening the longstanding bond between Iran and Pakistan. 

Tipu also underscored the need for both nations to actively nurture and enhance their deep-seated connections which are rooted in history. 

“There is a very high level of political engagement going on between the two countries. The Iranian leadership sent very strong congratulatory messages to Pakistan when our new government was recently elected. So did Islamabad when parliamentary elections were held in Iran.  I think that shows that the relationship is in the right direction and that it’s being solidified, strengthened, and widened,” Tipu stated, adding that terrorism is one thing that the two states will focus on.

He added, "But there are also far more areas where we need more cooperation. There is a historical perspective that connects more than 300 million people in the two countries. We are connected through geography, history, and culture and I think both leaderships understand that and are determined to move forward and further diversify and expand relations. While we need robust cooperation to tackle terrorism, we should meanwhile not get fixated on it. We need to widen our horizons and make use of the countless opportunities we have to deepen our ties. This is what I am looking at as the ambassador."

 

Tuesday, 26 March 2024

US refuses to support Pak-Iran gas pipeline

The news that United States could impose sanctions on the country if it goes ahead with Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline has been received with utter disappointment. It is likely to increase hatred against the super power, which is alleged of toppling Iman Khan Government in Pakistan.

According to DAWN, the US said on Tuesday it does not support a Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project from going forward and cautioned about the risk of sanctions in doing business with Tehran.

A day earlier, Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik had said that Islamabad would seek exemption from US sanctions over the gas pipeline project.

The Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline is a long-term project between Tehran and Islamabad, and has faced delays and funding challenges for several years.

“We always advise everyone that doing business with Iran runs the risk of touching upon and coming in contact with our sanctions, and would advise everyone to consider that very carefully,” a US State Department spokesperson told reporters in a press briefing.

“We do not support this pipeline going forward,” the spokesperson added, saying that Donald Lu, the State Department’s top official for South and Central Asia, had said as much to a congressional panel last week.

 

 

Saturday, 23 March 2024

US opposition of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline

While US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu’s recent testimony before a Congressional panel contained no bombshells about the cipher saga, the American diplomat’s replies to questions from lawmakers about the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline should certainly be cause for concern.

American reservations over the gas project clearly infringe on Pakistan’s sovereign right to take independent foreign policy decisions.

Lu told lawmakers that it was an American goal to ensure the pipeline is not completed. Using highly undiplomatic language, he observed that if they [Pakistan] get in bed with Iran, it will be very serious for our relationship.

The Foreign Office reaction to these comments was measured, as the spokesperson told the media that there was no room for discussion on a third-party [US] waiver, while the pipeline plays an important role in Pakistan’s energy security.

It is hoped that the state remains steadfast in upholding its commitments to the project, and rejects unwarranted foreign pressure.

Until the caretaker government gave the go-ahead for revitalizing the pipeline last month, the scheme had been in the doldrums for over a decade, mainly out of concern over attracting America’s wrath.

Pakistan should be the best judge of its energy requirements, and unsolicited advice such as that offered by Lu should be rejected with thanks. The American official also questioned how Pakistan would procure the financing to complete the scheme. Again, that should be Pakistan’s headache, not anyone else’s.

The fact is that the Iran pipeline appears to be a viable energy project, as the other major regional scheme — the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline — is in deep freeze particularly after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Moreover, if Pakistan reneges on the deal with Iran, it risks entering a messy litigation process, and paying a hefty US$18 billion in penalty.

Lu’s comments should also serve as a warning to our policymakers of the demands some of our friends may make of us in future as geopolitical turbulence increases.

For instance, today, Washington has issues with CPEC and the Iran pipeline; tomorrow it could let its displeasure be known regarding our relations with Moscow or other American foes.

Pakistan should be ready to face such criticism, and take decisions that are in the national interest.

Pakistan values its ties with the US and other Western states. But this does not mean relations with other states/ blocs should be held hostage to the whims of its Western partners.

However, it is also true that Pakistan can only take truly independent decisions when it does not have to depend on others to keep its economy afloat.

India and China can ignore US strictures about not trading with Russia because of their economic heft. Pakistan must heal itself if it wants to achieve true sovereignty.

Courtesy: Dawn

Wednesday, 10 May 2023

Pakistan-Iran to revive gas pipeline project

Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday agreed to explore new avenues of collaboration in the fields of aviation including direct flight, revival of gas pipeline project and expansion of trade between the two nations.

The understanding was reached during a meeting between Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar and visiting Chairman of the Commission of National Security and Foreign Policy of the Majlis of the Islamic Republic of Iran Vahid Jalalzadeh, who is leading a high-level delegation to Pakistan to discuss various measures to promote bilateral economic relations between the two countries.

An official announcement issued after the meeting said that both sides underlined the need to strengthen economic ties and emphasized the importance of increased connectivity.

Jalalzadeh proposed the initiation of direct flights between Iran and Pakistan to enhance travel and business opportunities.

Qamar acknowledged the significance of this proposal and expressed his support for establishing direct flights as a means to facilitate trade and promote people-to-people exchanges.

During the meeting, the discussions also touched upon the long-standing issue of the Pak-Iran Gas pipeline. Qamar stressed the importance of expediting the project, as it holds immense potential for energy cooperation between the two countries.

He pledged his commitment to resolve any obstacles and move forward with the pipeline, which would bring substantial benefits to both nations.

Recognizing the current trade volume of approximately US$2 billion as insufficient, Jalalzadeh urged the need to take solid steps to increase it to a multi-billion-dollar level. However, there is no official trade between the two countries owing to the non-availability of banking channels and restrictions.

Qamar emphasized the importance of opening new border markets and implementing a barter trade system to facilitate greater commercial exchange. These measures, he believed, would significantly boost trade volume.

Jalalzadeh also invited Qamar to visit Iran.

The inauguration of one of the six crossings at the Pasheen Border on May 18 by the prime minister of Pakistan and the president of Iran also came under discussion.


Friday, 3 September 2021

Escalating tension between Algeria and Morocco

On 24th August 2021, Algeria broke off its already minimal bilateral relations with Morocco, declaring this was due to the kingdom’s “hostile actions” and accusing it of involvement in the wildfires that struck the Kabylia region earlier that month. 

The heightened tension between the two countries brings into focus regional uncertainty and may spell the end of their limited collaboration in the energy sector.

The two countries have a long history of tense relations, behind which lie issues of political ideology, border demarcation, and competition for regional influence. Morocco and Algeria fought a short border war after the latter’s independence from France in the fall of 1963, and Algeria has long supported the Polisario Front in its struggle against Morocco for control of the Western Sahara.

The land border between the two countries has officially been closed since 1994; a decision Algeria made unilaterally following Moroccan accusations that the Algerian military was behind a terrorist attack in Marrakesh in 1994. The Moroccan leadership, including King Mohammed VI, has repeatedly called for re-opening the border, something Algerian leaders have consistently rejected. Still, the two countries have managed to find limited avenues for cooperation around a gas pipeline that transports Algerian gas through Morocco and on to Spain and other European markets, although the future of this arrangement is now in doubt.

Lately, tensions between Algeria and Morocco reached a level unseen in past, though an all-out military confrontation remains unlikely. Both governments have increased their military presence along the border, and while the prospects of armed conflict remain low, the growing tension provides each enough fodder to distract from more serious domestic issues. Indeed, the biggest challenge for Algeria’s military leadership has remained how to convince an inwardly focused population that Morocco is a greater threat to their well-being than internal economic, political, and security challenges.

The Algerian military and ruling elite’s dislike and suspicion of Morocco runs deep and goes back to the border conflict of the 1960s and Cold War-era ideological tensions. Old Algerian fears of Rabat’s designs for a “Greater Morocco” are no longer realistic — if they ever were — but nonetheless hawkish views of Morocco and concerns over its expansionist plans persist among Algeria’s military top brass. Morocco’s growing ambitions to increase its regional political and economic influence therefore remain alarming to some in Algeria’s military.

Recent domestic, regional, and global events have added to this ongoing suspicion and tension between the two neighbors. The US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara dealt a blow to Algerian efforts to keep Morocco isolated on the issue. Although the conflict is by no means resolved, US recognition is a major win for Morocco — and therefore, in this zero-sum game, a loss for the Polisario.

Algeria is also extremely wary of growing Moroccan-Israeli cooperation. The two countries normalized relations as part of the deal struck with the Trump administration that granted Morocco US recognition over its Western Sahara claims. Algeria remains a staunch ideological supporter of the Palestinian cause, and was extremely critical of Morocco’s decision to normalize relations.

Adding to Algeria’s outrage, Morocco’s alleged involvement in the Pegasus spyware scandal prompted condemnations and accusations of spying on Algerian officials and top military brass. Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra’s fiery back and forth with Morocco’s ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilal, in July regarding the Western Sahara further amplified tensions. In response to Lamamra’s reaffirmation of Algeria’s support for self-determination, Hilal, as he has provocatively done before, called on Algeria to adopt the same support for self-determination for its own long-restive Kabylia region.

Despite their sharp jabs against Algeria, the Moroccan leadership blames Algeria for the escalation and interprets it as a way for the Algerian leadership to save face while shunning King Mohammed VI’s recent calls for the reopening of the border and improved relations.

In August, as wildfires swept through the Kabylia region, Morocco offered Algeria two of its firefighting Canadair aircraft. Algeria, despite having no firefighting fleet of its own, rejected the offer.

As tensions escalate, one of the key uncertainties with broader implications is the future of the Maghreb-Europe Gas (MEG) pipeline that began operations in November 1996 to export gas to the Spanish and Portuguese markets. The pipeline crosses through Morocco and in return Morocco receives 7% of the gas transported, which it uses for domestic consumption. The agreement has weathered previous diplomatic crises. However, this time, its future is more uncertain.

In addition to the MEG pipeline, Algeria also currently exports through Medgaz, an underwater pipeline that bypasses Morocco and is under expansion to handle higher flows. MEG pushes through 13.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Algerian gas yearly, while Medgaz has capacity for 8 bcm a year. Medgaz has announced plans to boost its export capacity to 10 bcm a year, but the expansion will not be operational until the end of the year at the earliest. The MEG transit agreement between the two states is up for renewal in October.

For Morocco, if the deal falls through, this would deprive it of a key source of energy. Gas accounts for 10% of its domestic energy consumption, and the loss of access to Algerian gas would particularly impact two power plants located in northern Morocco — south of Tangier and south of Jerrada respectively — both of which rely on imported gas.

Over the past couple of years, with the pipeline agreement coming up for renewal, Morocco has signaled its intention to strike a more advantageous deal with Algeria, bolstered by the fact that the full ownership of the pipeline will pass from the Spanish company Naturgy to the Moroccan government as of 1st November 2021. Morocco wants to boost its own access to gas as an important energy source, despite ongoing domestic efforts to diversify its energy mix and increase the share of renewables.

If the two countries fail to reach an agreement, Morocco could face energy shortages that it might struggle to make up in the short to medium term, while Algeria would deprive itself of an important income source. For their part, Spain and Portugal would likewise have to make up energy shortages from a different supplier. If Morocco and Algeria take a hard-nosed approach, Algeria could deprive Morocco of a key bargaining chip, but it would be at the expense of its own domestic economic considerations.

Algeria cannot afford to lose this access, particularly considering the crippling economic losses the country has faced in recent years. Although Morocco has promised to keep the pipeline open, it could risk being seen as blocking access to gas for European markets. Coming on top of its recent woes with European partners over migration, spying allegations, the Western Sahara, and the upcoming European ruling on the fisheries agreement, this could seriously damage Morocco’s ties with the EU.

As the three partners — Algeria, Morocco, and Spain — continue negotiations on this agreement that they all need, geopolitical considerations are not to be overlooked. Algeria is growing more anxious to reassert itself as a regional power following two years of turmoil at home and a longer-standing retrenchment from regional affairs.

Cutting ties with Morocco, even at the risk of potentially jeopardizing its critical energy exports, is about drawing a line in the sand, a total unwillingness to allow Morocco any leverage, as well as an effort to draw the attention of domestic audiences away from problems at home and rally against an external enemy.

For Morocco, these old conflicts and tensions that it wishes to leave behind create a challenge to its domestic and foreign ambitions. They stand as a reminder that the country is vulnerable, and that its regional and local stability are not to be taken for granted — something Algeria is keen to emphasize as it seeks to restore its wider regional role.