By IANS
New Delhi : Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon Saturday began his two-day visit to Iran, during which he will try to bridge the drift in ties with special emphasis on ramping up energy ties.
Menon, who left for Tehran in the morning, is likely to call on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and discuss with them a wide array of bilateral, regional and global issues.
The drift in ties had begun in 2005, when India had voted for a resolution against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But, India had also consistently said that Iran had a right to develop a civilian nuclear energy programme, as per the NPT rules.
There had also been concern among the Left allies of the ruling coalition that India was shelving its relations with Iran for improving ties with the US.
Moreover, two energy projects – an LNG deal and a trilateral pipeline passing through Pakistan – have been stalled over the pricing issue. It is expected that the foreign secretary will raise the issue and try to revive energy ties.
This will be the first official visit from the Indian side to Iran after the Dec 3 release of the US National Intelligence Estimate report that said Tehran had halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003.