Pakistan Seeking to Buy Oil From Russia at Same Price as India, Finance Minister Says

According to India's Finance Minister, Delhi’s oil purchases from Moscow have increased from 2 percent to 12 percent of overall imports since February. Importing crude from Russia is part of India's “inflation-management” strategy in view of high global prices, the minister explained.

Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar says that Islamabad is willing to buy Urals grade crude from Russia at the same discounted price that Moscow is offering it to New Delhi.

The remarks were made at a press conference in Washington as he wrapped up his four-day visit to the US to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Dar expressed confidence that western governments won’t object to Islamabad sourcing crude oil from Moscow, pointing to Pakistan’s difficult financial conditions which have been worsened by the floods, which have left more than 1,700 people dead and resulted in economic losses to the tune of $32Bln.

Dar has been a consistent advocate for buying crude from Russia: last month, he stressed the need to "campaign" with the West so that it gets the “same treatment” as India as far as Russian crude imports are concerned. According to the minister, a discount of 20 to 30 percent by sourcing crude oil from Russia would be beneficial for Pakistan’s flood-ravaged economy.

His country needs around $16Bln at present to carry out the relief and rehabilitation work, the minister added.

The latest remarks by Pakistan's federal finance minister came after both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank downgraded their growth forecast for Pakistan.

In its World Economic Outlook (WEO) Countering the Cost-of-Living Crisis report published last week, the IMF warned that GDP growth could fall to 2.7 percent in 2023. The report didn’t factor in the economic impacts of the floods.

Pakistan has been facing a severe bout of consumer inflation, which accelerated for six consecutive months before topping 27 percent in August compared with a year earlier.

The World Bank said this month that the average inflation in Pakistan is expected to reach 23 percent in financial year 2023, largely driven by flood-related disruptions to the supply of food and commodities as well as high energy prices as a consequence of western governments’ efforts to cut their reliance on Russian energy exports.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly discussed the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when the two met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand last month.

According to Pakistani officials, Islamabad has offered Moscow the option of “deferred payments” on crude purchases.