ISLAMABAD, Feb 27: Pakistan can help the Eritrean government in the development of its energy and mineral sectors.

The offer was made by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Amanullah Khan Jadoon in a meeting with Eritrean Minister for Energy and Mines Tesfai Ghebres classic, here on Saturday.

According to a statement, Mr Jadoon said there existed a lot of potential and opportunities for both countries to cooperate in the energy and mineral sectors for mutual advantage. He said Pakistan had geological and hydrocarbon development expertise and it could send a delegation of experts to Eritrea to help identify areas of activities.

The minister said Pakistan could also impart training to the Eritrean geo scientists and mineral technologists in various fields of mineral exploration, geo chemical analysis and small scale mining.

On the occasion, the Eritrean minister said his country had significant oil production (over 200,000 barrels per day) and hoped that it could benefit from Pakistan's expertise in oil and gas development.

Meanwhile, a delegation from China Metallurgical Construction Corporation (MCC), headed by its vice-president Wang Yongguang, also met the petroleum minister and discussed with him matters pertaining to promotion of cooperation in mineral sector.

The Chinese firm is already operating in Saindak Copper-Gold project in Balochistan. The MCC vice-president briefed the minister about the ongoing activities in Saindak project and expressed keen desire to participate in mineral projects in other areas of the country. Mr Jadoon invited the firm to cooperate in tapping the unexplored mineral deposits in some areas of the Punjab and NWFP.

ALGERIAN ENVOY: Pakistan and Algeria can benefit from each other's experiences as there exists a lot of potential to strengthen cooperation in oil and gas sector. These views were expressed in a meeting between Petroleum Minister Amanullah Khan Jadoon and Algerian Ambassador Nadir Alarbaqui, a statement said.