ISLAMABAD, April 25: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday invited China to invest in large refineries, storages and pipelines to help develop Gwadar as an ‘energy and trans-shipment port’ to ensure secure and reliable supplies to Central Asia and western China.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the Pakistan-China Energy Forum, Prime Minister Aziz said Pakistan should be the destination of choice for Chinese investments because of its proximity and geo-economic relevance.

“Time has come to reinforce our traditional friendship with a strong and vibrant economic partnership,” he said.

The prime minister said Pakistan was located at the confluence of three vital regions — south, central and west Asia — providing shortest access to the sea for all landlocked Central Asian countries, as well as western China.

He said Pakistan was fast emerging as the junction for multiple corridors of cooperation among the three regions involving energy, trade, transportation and tourism.

He said the Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation signed during President Pervez Musharraf’s last visit to Beijing reflected the determination of the two governments to promote comprehensive cooperation in the field of energy, including nuclear power, as well as realise the concept of building an energy corridor between the two countries.

The prime minister said the forum should develop a comprehensive agenda as well as mechanism to institutionalise cooperation in the energy sector between the two countries. It must focus on devising a framework to enhance oil and gas exploration activity and capacity building, building an energy corridor to China, increasing oil refining and storage capacity and laying oil pipelines for ensuring secure supplies, he said.

It should initiate studies for the energy corridor and transportation network to China, enhance cooperation in nuclear power generation, exploit vast coal resources of Pakistan for meeting energy needs and promote cooperation between private sectors of the two countries for realising joint ventures in the relevant fields, he said.

He said the strategic direction of Pakistan for development of energy sector was to ensure sustainable supply of energy at competitive price to all sectors of the economy.

He said the government was increasing emphasis on nuclear energy resources, planning to generate 8,800 megawatts in the next 25 years, and enhance exploitation of hydropower to make the industrial sector more competitive.

The government, he said, was placing more stress on developing and encouraging the use of renewable resources like solar, wind and biomass in remote areas.

He said the government was focusing on developing coal reserves for power generation and exploring regional linkages, including with Tajikistan.

He said the government was considering three options to import gas: through Pakistan-Iran-India pipeline, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan pipeline and Oman-Pakistan pipeline.