Pak wants equal opportunities for access to N-technology

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday said there needs to be a 'level playing field' in access to nuclear technology without 'discrimination', in an apparent reference to the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

The US has repeatedly ruled out a similar deal with Pakistan.

Expressing Pakistan's determination to meet its energy requirements through all available means including nuclear energy, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz sought equal opportunities for all countries for the transfer of civil nuclear energy and said that installation of more nuclear reactors is underway in the country.

He was inaugurating a two-day international conference 'Energy: Sources of Regional Cooperation and Competition' in Islamabad.

Scholars from India, Iran, Bangladesh, Japan, Argentina, Germany, France, Indonesia, China, Singapore, US, Sudan and Pakistan will present their papers on energy during the conference.

Aziz also praised the International Atomic Energy Agency for its role in monitoring nuclear energy technology in the world, saying it was doing 'a fine job'.
   
He said every country has the right to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the appropriate safeguards. "There is a need for a level playing field for all countries to have access to nuclear technology without any discrimination," the prime minister said.

Aziz said the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project is at an advanced stage of negotiations.

"We are confident that this project will be launched in the near future. Similarly, we are exploring the possibilities of a pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan, which could be extended onward to India," Aziz said.
   
He said the energy requirement in Pakistan was increasing by 8 to 12 per cent annually, but the country was able to fulfil 75 per cent of the requirements from domestic resources.

Aziz said Pakistan needed to expand and diversify in the next 25 years to meet its energy needs, adding the country has hydel, gas and coal resources and is also pursuing nuclear energy to maximise utilisation of indigenous resources.
   
Pointing out that Pakistan, which lies between the Middle East and Central Asia, is an "energy corridor for all", Aziz said the country's energy policy is based on three points -- increasing energy resources, providing stable and uninterrupted supply and ensuring environmental procedure.
  
He said Pakistan will have a Mega Oil Refinery project with the help of the UAE in the coastal areas while an LNG terminal is being built in Karachi.

Aziz said Pakistan had recently signed an agreement with Iran to increase its electricity supply from the border areas which will be taken to the grid stations. Earlier the supply was only till the border areas.
   
On extremism, the prime minister said the world has to address the root causes in a peaceful manner. He said developed countries should set up factories and construct infrastructure in Afghanistan and should provide more job opportunities to the people.