By IINA,
Islamabad : Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani yesterday said early materialization of the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline agreement will usher in prosperity and further bring the regional countries closer. Talking to President of Iran Ahmadinejad at the PM House Gilani said Pakistan was keen to promote bilateral relations with Iran in all fields and said it would purchase more electricity from Iran to help meet its growing energy needs. He said Iran was an important country and Pakistan values its cooperation with it for promoting peace and stability in the region.
Pakistan and Iran are of the view that all outstanding issues relating to the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline have been resolved and a final agreement on the project can now be signed, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said after a meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The two leaders also discussed the inclusion of China in the project, and the Iranian leader “welcomed” President Musharraf’s proposal that China could join the project, a Foreign Ministry release said. Ahmadinejad was in the Pakistan capital for a brief official stopover en route to Sri Lanka, after which he is due in New Delhi.
The Foreign Ministry said both Presidents decided that the agreement on over the IPI gas pipeline project would be signed soon. According to the Ministry’s release, Prime Minister Gillani, in his meeting with President Ahmadinejad, emphasized that the signing of the agreement would add a new dynamic to cooperation between Pakistan and Iran in the energy sector. “It was agreed that the Foreign Ministers of the two countries would meet soon to discuss and fix dates for its signing,” the release stated. Tehran will also supply 1100 MW to Pakistan to mitigate an acute power shortage which has led to unprecedented load-shedding in all parts of the country, including the privileged capital city.
Musharraf and Ahmadinejad in their hour-long talks discussed the pipeline project, bilateral issues, the situation in Afghanistan and other issues faced by the region, the official release said. “The good thing that came out of the meeting is that both sides reiterated that the gas pipeline will promote peace and friendship between the two countries,” Mr. Qureshi told reporters later. “They recognized that all outstanding issues have been resolved and the Iranian President will soon invite the Pakistan President to Tehran where an agreement will be signed,” he said.
The Foreign Minister said Iran gave a positive response to the Pakistani proposal for allowing a gas pipeline through its territory to provide gas to China, along the historic Karakoram Highway. The Iranian President said his country would provide 1100 MW to Pakistan. Iran at present provides 35 MW to areas in Pakistan near the shared border.
Pakistan and Iran also agreed to improve their economic ties in order to take their bilateral trade to the $1-billion mark. Qureshi reiterated Pakistan’s position that “we support Iran’s use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, under the IAEA guidelines.”
Ahmadinejad is also visiting India today. During the talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Ahmadinejad, India will ask Iran for assured supply of gas on the Iran-Pakistan pipeline for it to remain interested in the project. The Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline is back in play as India lays out a charm offensive for the visiting Iranian president who makes his first official stopover in India.
The renewed Indian interest in the gas pipeline comes after Iran’s purported impatience with India delaying its decision on the project. There have been eyebrows raised in India after China indicated it was interested in the pipeline crossing over into its territory. During the five-hour visit, India’s focus will be on the business side of the relationship with Iran. India will ask for more energy business with Iran, while keeping politics to a bare minimum in the discussions. India will also ask for more energy investment in Iran, mining and exploration as well as downstream production possibilities. The PM will host an exclusive dinner for Ahmadinejad after his meeting with President Pratibha Patil. India will tell Iran that the pipeline project would be viable only when there are assured supplies of gas.