IPI: India working with Pak to resolve issues

Affirming its commitment to the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, New Delhi on Saturday said it is working with Islamabad to resolve outstanding issues and insisted that the $ 7.4-billion project can be finalised through cooperation of all the three countries.  Inaugurating the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting here, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also expressed hope that Iran would implement the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) deal of 2005 for supply of five million mtpa of LNG.  He said India also expected that 20 per cent stake for ONGC Videsh Ltd in Yadavaran gas field as part of the LNG agreement would be honoured by Iran. "We have reiterated to the Iranian government at all levels that India remains committed to the IPI project. We are working with Pakistan to resolve outstanding issues pertaining to transit and transportation tariff," the Minister said. "With the cooperation of all three sides, it should be possible to finalise the project," he said. The two-day Joint Commission meeting, co-chaired by Mukherjee and Iran's Economic Minister Shamseddin Hossein, is discussing new initiatives in various sectors including trade and investment, energy, mining, railways and banking. Noting that India was looking for a more balanced trade profile, Mukherjee invited Iranian participation in India's growth.

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