Awais Leghari seeks Swedish & EU Green Fund technical and financial assistance
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari has invited Sweden Green Fund to assist Pakistan’s small vehicles conversion into electric technology by providing technical and financial assistance to help support Pakistan’s recent move of record reduction in tariff for EV changing stations.
The Federal Minister put the proposal in a meeting with Swedish Ambassador in Pakistan HE Ms Alexandra Berg Von Linde, who called on him here.Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Chairs the Meeting of ECC
The Federal Minister while elaborating about the proposal for conversion of existing fossil fuel vehicles specially motorcycles, said that currently there are over 30 million motorcycles in Pakistan. The people in that income group are very good in retiring loans, he added. He said that Swedish and EU Green fund can consider providing interest free loans for the purpose through Pakistani Banks which have a very robust system in place.
Explaining the current energy mix and importance of renewable energy the Federal Minister informed that last year it remained 55% of overall Power Generation in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan is fully committed to promoting renewable energy in Pakistan and in this regard Power Division is carefully chalking out policies to enable affordable and sustainable electricity for the consumers.
The Minister noted that Pakistan is currently reviewing its Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) to ensure the integration of energy into the national grid on a least-cost basis, optimizing the country’s energy resources for maximum economic impact.
The Swedish Ambassador, informed that “75 years of diplomatic relations were celebrated between Pakistan and Sweden last year. This reflects the strength and depth of our bilateral ties.”
The Ambassador highlighted that Swedish companies operating in Pakistan are keen on securing a reliable green energy supply and emphasized Sweden’s readiness to share expertise and technological , support to Pakistan in this regard. Textile sector of Pakistan being one of primary exporter to EU, is being focused to make is globally competitive in terms of renewable and sustainable energy, the Ambassador further informed.
