ISLAMABAD, March 9: US Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman will be arriving here over the weekend to formally initiate a high-level energy dialogue with Pakistan on Monday, diplomatic sources confirmed.
Mr Bodman had telephoned Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri on Monday to inform him that he would be visiting Pakistan soon.
The inaugural session of the energy dialogue on Monday will focus primarily on the possible areas of cooperation. It will also mark the launching of the Pakistan-US Energy Working Group.
The decision to initiate a high-level Pakistan-US energy dialogue was taken during the visit of President George W. Bush here last week.
Announcing the decision on Saturday after the Musharraf-Bush summit meeting, the Foreign Office said both countries would explore ways to meet Pakistan’s growing energy needs and strengthen its energy security.
“Both sides have agreed to develop public and private collaboration on a broad range of energy sources,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office in consultation with all relevant ministries and organizations is busy fine tuning Pakistan’s energy security plan that would be discussed in detail with the top US energy official.
According to informed sources, Pakistan would basically be looking at US technology, expertise and financing for energy projects, mainly in the field of gas and coal.
The Bush administration has made it clear to Islamabad that for the time being a civilian nuclear deal with Pakistan like its landmark agreement with India is out.
In the first public comment on the reason, US Under-secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns, told CBS on Wednesday that it was due to Pakistan’s proliferation history.
“It’s not going to be possible for us to have a civil nuclear relationship with Pakistan of the type that we’ve just announced with India. Because of history, because of their proliferation history,” he was quoted as saying in CBS’s “Charlie Rose Show”.
