The Economic Development of India and Pakistan

India, Pakistan, Iran and the United States: Intersections of Energy, Environment, and Nuclear Nonproliferation Policies by East-West Center Adjunct Senior Fellow Toufiq Siddiqi.

The continued economic development of India and Pakistan requires large additional amounts of energy. The domestic energy resources of the two countries are unable to meet even the current demand, and both countries are already importing oil. Given the current price and demand for oil, and the environmental problems associated with coal use, natural gas is the most logical energy source for the next 20 years or more.

Iran has the second largest proven reserves of natural gas, and its proximity to both countries means that an overland gas pipeline to India and Pakistan can be built at reasonable cost. The two countries have individually signed initial agreements with Iran to purchase natural gas.

The United States is concerned about Iran’s potential development of nuclear weapons, and has legislation in place to discourage other countries from undertaking large projects in Iran. At the same time, the U. S. considers India and Pakistan as important allies, and is supportive of their goal of rapid and sustainable development. Siddiqi will elaborate on some of these policy dilemmas and suggest some ways in which they can be resolved.

Siddiqi is president of Global Environment and Energy in the 21st Century and an adjunct senior fellow at the East-West Center. He is also an affiliate graduate faculty member in the geography department at UH Manoa. He has a doctorate in nuclear physics from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt (Germany), and a BA (honours) from Cambridge University.

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