A meeting of the Inter-Governmental Council (IGC) for CASA-1000 Project was held at Dubai on May 16-17. It was attended by the Ministers of Energy of four member countries - Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan, says a news release received here Thursday from Dubai.
The meeting was also attended by the representatives of the World Bank, USAID, Islamic Development Bank, International Finance Corporation and other financial institutions. In the meeting some important decisions were made. These decisions were with respect to project structure, appointment of Executive Director for the Secretariat, roles and responsibilities of Country Working Groups to move the project ahead, various financing options for the project and all other important issues to speed up implementation of the project.
All the member countries reiterated their full commitment to the project. The World Bank and Islamic Development Bank also expressed their full commitment toward financing of the project. A delegation from the Russian Federation also made presentation, reiterating its desire to provide 500 million US dollars for this project.
At the end of meeting, a protocol was signed by the Energy Ministers of the four countries. Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Water and Power, signed from Pakistan side. While addressing in the final session he said that CASA-1000 Project was very important for Pakistan as there was an energy crisis, which had been hitting country's economy and even the life of the common man.