DUBAI – Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said that the United States cannot stop Pakistan from purchasing Russian oil and it will be possible to do so soon. “During my visit to the US last month, I had met with officials of the US State Department where the matter of oil purchase from Russia was discussed,” said the finance minister while addressing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers in Dubai yesterday. Russia oil is considered cheaper in price in the international market and India is regularly purchasing the product from Russia at almost 30 per cent cheaper as compared to the price in international market. The PTI leadership has been continuously claiming that their government was in contact with the authorities in Moscow to finalize an agreement to purchase their oil at cheaper rates. However, Moscow later denied this claim saying there were no negotiations with the PTI government in Islamabad for signing of such agreement. Amid the rising prices of petrol in the international market, the PML-N-led coalition government has already shown its desire to get petrol from Russia at reduced price as Pakistan currently is badly experiencing energy crisis. Ishaq Dar further said that the US authorities were informed that they cannot stop Islamabad from buying oil from Moscow as the country’s neighbour India is also buying the oil from them. Dar also said that the ministry will try to purchase oil from Russia on similar terms as it has with India. “In coming months, you will see that the government will take important steps in favour of Pakistan in this regard,” added the finance minister. Dar also said that the country has financial dealings with Saudi Arabia, China, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “During the prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia, meetings were also held with the Saudi authorities. From these meetings, you will see that there will be further improvement for Pakistan,” said Dar. The finance minister further said that Saudi Arabia will set up a refinery in Gwadar, adding that this is an investment of around $11 or $12 billion. He further said that this project was started in October 2015 that he was in Riyadh at that time and had meetings with high Saudi officials on the subject. “Due to the political crisis and change of government in Pakistan, this refinery could not be established, now it has been decided to establish the refinery again,” the finance minister added. He slammed PTI’s government for sinking Pakistan’s economy in their four-year tenure. He said that economy faced a negative impact when the dollar spiralled due to Pakistan’s decision to move to a market-based exchange rate. “The economy was destroyed in four years. Pakistan was on the verge of becoming Sri Lanka instead of turning into Singapore,” he said. While commenting on the rising dollar rates before he took over as the finance minister, Dar said that the country’s debt increased by Rs4 trillion and assured to maintain balance between the price of dollar and rupee. “We will try to depreciate dollar below Rs200. Our government is determined to improve rupee’s value against the dollar,” the minister said on plans to ensure currency balance. The finance minister said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is implementing economic reforms to bring the economy back on its feet. “We will complete the IMF programme. Around $32 billion to $34 billion are required for the current financial year. We hope to collect the amount,” Dar said speaking about the funds to be received from the global financial institution.
