India to engage Iran over IPI gas pipeline once again
19 Apr 2010
New Delhi: India's on again, off again engagement with the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline has been revived once again with Iranian officials indicating that New Delhi has sought fresh talks over energy related matters, including participation in the $7.5 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. Indian participation in the proposed project has been more or less given up for good as fruitless talks with other partners have extended for years without showing any results.
As opposed to New Delhi's dilly-dallying over the project, reportedly under American pressure, Iran and Pakistan signed a confirmatory deal in March this year to construct the multi-billion dollar natural gas pipeline which will connect the two neighbouring countries.
"India has proposed holding a preliminary session to follow up the energy ties between the two countries, including talks on the Peace pipeline," Hojatollah Ghanimifard, vice-president of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), was quoted as saying by Iranian agencies.
The pipeline is also referred to as the Peace pipeline, a tagline preferred by the Iranian and Pakistani partners.
"These preliminary talks will aim at more important goals such as the establishment of a Joint Iran-India Commission," he added.
Indian officials have said that an India-Iran joint working group was expected to meet shortly to discuss the pipeline. They indicated that the situation remained poised at the same position as before.
