ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Azerbaijan has expressed interest in supplying electricity to Pakistan through Iran.

Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Dr Eynullah Madatili called on federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Friday and informed him that his country was ready to supply electricity to Pakistan, but not through Afghanistan.

According to a handout, the minister invited Azerbaijan to invest in Pakistan’s energy sector. He said the sector had great potential and foreign companies were getting good returns on their investment.

He said Pakistan a number of problems, energy deficit being one of them.

He said the government was taking measures to bridge the demand-supply gap by setting up fast-track power projects and giving priority to exploiting indigenous resources like coal, water and wind.

Mr Ashraf said the country’s first windmill farm in private sector would become operational next month.

He said Pakistan would like to benefit from Azerbaijan’s expertise hydel-power generation and assured the ambassador that the government would provide facilities to Azerbaijan for investing and participating in hydroelectric projects.

The minister accepted an invitation to visit Azerbaijan to discuss investment opportunities in the sector and to enhance the electricity link between Central Asian and South Asian countries.