Pak, Afghanistan ink power transit fee accord

Pakistan and Afghanistan have signed an agreement on electricity transit fees, a deal that will facilitate transmission of cheaper electricity from Central Asia to the South Asian country.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have signed an agreement on electricity transit fees, a deal that will facilitate transmission of cheaper electricity from Central Asia to the South Asian country.

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Finance minister Ishaq Dar and his Afghan counterpart Omar Zakhilwal inked the deal in the presence of World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and US Special Representative for Af-Pak Dan Feldman in Washington yesterday, media reports said here today.

WB chief welcomed the deal as a success towards meeting Pakistan's power requirements and establishing commercial arrangements for the trade of 1,300MW of electricity between the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000).

Dar described the deal as "a major step towards closer partnership with Kabul that will allow the supply of Central Asian electricity to Pakistan through Afghan territory for a transit fee of 1.25 cents per KW." "It's a win-win for both countries," Dar said.

"This marks a new beginning towards greater economic cooperation between the two countries. Pakistan is committed to greater economic and trade cooperation with Afghanistan," he was quoted as saying by the media.