TEHRAN - Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate of Pakistan, Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, has said that the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline completion and membership in BRICS should be the priority of the new Pakistani government.

On the sidelines of the meeting of the Pakistani Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, Naek said in an interview with IRNA that Pakistan should complete the joint gas project with Iran known as (Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline) to solve its energy crisis and achieve a sustainable solution.

Pointing out that Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) on Friday finally approved works on the first phase of the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline to boost the country’s energy security, he said this step should have been taken earlier, and at the same time, the Pakistanis want energy security, and this goal can be achieved by using the gas transfer project from Iran.

He also described bilateral relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran as very important for the government and parliament of Pakistan, saying that despite many regional and international developments, "we want to increase our relations with Iran, especially in regional and international forums."

Referring to the joining of countries to the BRICS organization, including Iran's membership and its impact on regional and global equations, he emphasized: "Our demand from the new government of Pakistan is to prioritize Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline and joining BRICS."

The meeting of the Pakistani Senate's Foreign Relations Committee was held in Islamabad. It was chaired by the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate of Pakistan and attended by the country's deputy foreign minister, Muhammad Syrus Sajjad.

Regional developments, the war in Ukraine, the situation in Palestine, BRICS, and relations with neighbors, including recent developments related to the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline, were discussed in the meeting.

Chairman of the Pakistani Senate's Defense Committee, Mushahid Hussain Syed, and a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, in a speech referring to his recent visit to Moscow and meeting with senior officials of the Russian Federation, expressed Islamabad's seriousness to strengthen relations with the Russians to facilitate the process of joining the BRICS organization.

Emphasizing the need to improve the relations between Tehran and Islamabad, he said he had consulted with the Russian side about the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline. He then added that the Russians are ready to invest in the construction of the pipeline in Pakistan, and this desire is visible.

Sajjad, for his part, emphasized the importance of the joint gas project and the Islamabad government's commitment to advance this project.

He added: Unfortunately, some of the extraterritorial sanctions and tensions created by the United States with Iran have caused a long delay in the completion of this important project.

EF/