 | « Back to article | Print this article |
India said on Monday it will sign 'very soon' an agreement with Iran and Pakistan in connection with the transnational pipeline project involving the three countries.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Gholam Hosein Nozari for talks on the $7.5 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project said there were 'some minor problems' which have been sorted out.
"There were also some issues with Pakistan that has been taken care of," Deora told NDTV.
"The Pakistan oil minister has changed and so we have to deal with the new minister who is going to deal with it. Very soon we should be able to sign the agreement with Iran and Pakistan," he said.
The project was first mooted in 1994 but has been stalled by a series of disputes over prices and transit fees.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram also accompanied Deora for the talks held on the sidelines of the meeting of world energy ministers here to discuss strategies to calm spiralling crude prices.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of the United Progressive Alliance government coming under attack from the Left for allegedly 'dragging its feet' on the pipeline.
CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat said in Chennai on Monday, "We want the negotiations to continue so that the deal is completed".
Trilateral talks have remained stuck for the past few months.
Indian officials at Jeddah told PTI over phone that Deora and Chidambaram also met oil Nigerian oil minister.
The Indian also had brief meeting with the Venezuelan foreign minister at the airport, the officials added.