Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Pakistan in the next few months to begin a gas pipeline project. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asked Putin to visit. Mobin Saulat heads Inter State Gas Systems, the Pakistani company that would build the pipeline. He says Putin may visit Pakistan before June. He says Russia is interested in the project because 200 million people live in Pakistan, and investing in the country could help Russia gain influence in other South Asian nations. When Pakistani officials and energy experts visited Moscow recently, they met with the heads of three large Russian energy companies for the first time in more than 20 years. He says that shows Russia’s interest in Pakistani energy issues. Saulat says he believes the pipeline is the first of many investments Russia will make in Pakistan. Experts say both countries may have strategic and political reasons to work together on the gas pipeline project.