Pak to pay for Russian oil in currencies of 'friendly countries': Official
Pakistan will pay for energy purchases from Russia, when they start in late March, in currencies of friendly countries, a top energy official said on Friday.
The development came at the conclusion of the 8th session of the Pakistan-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) on trade, economic, scientific, and technical cooperation led by Ayaz Sadiq, Pakistan Minister for Economic Affairs, and Nikolay Shulginov, Russian Energy Minister, from respective sides between January 18 and 20 here.
Shulginov, in a joint statement read out before the media, said Islamabad would pay for energy purchases in currencies of friendly countries, adding that the two countries agreed in late March as the timeline for crude oil export to cash-strapped Pakistan.
The friendly countries were not named but likely include China which has close ties with both Pakistan and Russia.
The two sides worked under the guidance of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and President Vladimir Putin and took the opportunity to