Australia offers LNG supply to cope with energy shortages

Will assist Pakistan in sectors including agriculture development, energy, exploration of natural resources and IT

ISLAMABAD: Australia has announced that it is ready to cooperate with Pakistan in a host of sectors ranging from energy to agriculture.

Australian High Commis­sioner Margaret Adamson, while talking to business community at the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), said her country would assist Pakistan in a number of sectors including agriculture development, energy, exploration of natural resources, information technology (IT), health, education and value chain to boost its economic profile.



She said Pakistan was in the driving seat in the information technology sector globally with a young and talented pool of IT professionals and the area had great potential for cooperation between the two countries, a statement quoted the high commissioner as saying.

Adamson pointed out that water conservation and its optimum utilisation was another area of great interest as both countries could face water shortage. “A strong cooperation could help Pakistan and Australia to cope with this challenge more effectively.”

She called Pakistan a strong market of 200 million people with abundant natural resources while Australia had advanced technology and expertise in many fields, so both had a good potential to complement each other in many areas.

She was of the view that Pakistan’s profile as an investment destination should be further raised in order to attract more Australian investment.

She saw great opportunities in the region for business and investment and said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was vital to strengthening regional connectivity and promoting regional integration.

Adamson suggested that Australia could supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Pakistan to address its energy challenges and assured businessmen that Australia would continue to work with Pakistan in agriculture, energy, health, education and other sectors to strengthen its economy.



ICCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh, while citing $485 million worth of bilateral trade in 2014-15, said it was far less than the real potential and proposed the two countries should focus on exchange of trade delegations regularly to identify new avenues of cooperation.

He asked Australia to share its advanced agro-technology, expertise and quality seeds, which would lead to improvement in productivity and quality of agricultural products in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th,  2016.

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