ID :
122444
Sun, 05/16/2010 - 19:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/122444
The shortlink copeid
India, Iran to resume talks on gas pipeline through Pakistan
Ammar Zaidi
Tehran, May 16 (PTI) After a two-year lull, India has
proposed to resume talks with Iran next week on importing gas
through a pipeline passing through Pakistan, but Tehran is yet
to respond to the offer.
India last month proposed a meeting of the India-Iran
Joint Working Group (JWG) between May 23 and 28 in New Delhi
to discuss the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, but
Tehran has not yet confirmed the data, sources said.
India has been boycotting project talks since 2008 over
concerns on safe delivery of gas and frequent changes in price
of gas. New Delhi wants Iran to stick to the price agreed
between them in 2007 and also wants it to be responsible for
safe passage of gas through Pakistan.
India's External Affairs Minister, S M Krishna, who is
here to attend the G-15 Summit, is likely to discuss
resumption of dialogue on the IPI project when he meets his
counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki.
Sources said the delay in Iran's response essentially
means that talks cannot happen between May 23 and 28 and new
dates will now have to be discussed.
The pipeline has been on the drawing board since the
mid-1990s, when Iran and India inked preliminary agreements to
transport gas through Pakistan. It was dubbed the "Peace
Pipeline", because of hopes it would lead to a detente between
neighbours India and Pakistan.
India says it fears for safety of the pipeline in
Pakistan's Baluchistan province, home to a militant Islamist
separatist movement, and wants Iran to take responsibility for
safe passage of gas through Pakistan. It wants pay for the
fuel only when it is delivered to it at the Pakistan-India
border.
Sources said Krishna will again flag India's concern on
safety and pricing during the meeting to Mottaki. Unless the
twin issues are addressed, it may not join the project even
though Iran and Pakistan in March signed an Inter-Governmental
Framework Declaration to support the gas pipeline. A Gas Sale
and Purchase Agreement between National Iranian Gas Export Co
(NIGEC) and Pakistan Inter-State Gas Co has also been
concluded. PTI
Tehran, May 16 (PTI) After a two-year lull, India has
proposed to resume talks with Iran next week on importing gas
through a pipeline passing through Pakistan, but Tehran is yet
to respond to the offer.
India last month proposed a meeting of the India-Iran
Joint Working Group (JWG) between May 23 and 28 in New Delhi
to discuss the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, but
Tehran has not yet confirmed the data, sources said.
India has been boycotting project talks since 2008 over
concerns on safe delivery of gas and frequent changes in price
of gas. New Delhi wants Iran to stick to the price agreed
between them in 2007 and also wants it to be responsible for
safe passage of gas through Pakistan.
India's External Affairs Minister, S M Krishna, who is
here to attend the G-15 Summit, is likely to discuss
resumption of dialogue on the IPI project when he meets his
counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki.
Sources said the delay in Iran's response essentially
means that talks cannot happen between May 23 and 28 and new
dates will now have to be discussed.
The pipeline has been on the drawing board since the
mid-1990s, when Iran and India inked preliminary agreements to
transport gas through Pakistan. It was dubbed the "Peace
Pipeline", because of hopes it would lead to a detente between
neighbours India and Pakistan.
India says it fears for safety of the pipeline in
Pakistan's Baluchistan province, home to a militant Islamist
separatist movement, and wants Iran to take responsibility for
safe passage of gas through Pakistan. It wants pay for the
fuel only when it is delivered to it at the Pakistan-India
border.
Sources said Krishna will again flag India's concern on
safety and pricing during the meeting to Mottaki. Unless the
twin issues are addressed, it may not join the project even
though Iran and Pakistan in March signed an Inter-Governmental
Framework Declaration to support the gas pipeline. A Gas Sale
and Purchase Agreement between National Iranian Gas Export Co
(NIGEC) and Pakistan Inter-State Gas Co has also been
concluded. PTI
