India committed to Iran, Turkmenistan pipeline projects: Deora
India is committed to the multi-billion dollar pipeline projects for transporting gas from Iran and Turkmenistan to meet its burgeoning energy needs.
By PTI |
ISLAMABAD: India is fully committed to the multi-billion dollar pipeline projects for transporting gas from Iran and Turkmenistan to meet its burgeoning energy needs, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on Wednesday.
Dispelling speculation in circles here that India was no longer committed to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, Deora said New Delhi had been interested in the project for several years and had participated in numerous meetings with the two other countries to finalise arrangements.
Speaking after a meeting here at which India was formally inducted as a full-fledged member in the Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan pipeline project, Deora said: "As far as India is concerned, we want to achieve both projects.
"The prices of fuel and gas are going up almost every day. Our demand for energy is high while the supplies are limited," he said, acknowledging that talks on the IPI project had only been delayed due to the political uncertainty in Pakistan over the past year.
"The meeting with Pakistan on the IPI project was delayed due to the local circumstances. The situation was not right (for talks)," he said.
He also dispelled speculation that New Delhi was showing renewed interest in the IPI project because Pakistan had recently hinted that it would rope in China if India stayed away from the project.
The meeting on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India pipeline ends tomorrow and Deora is scheduled to meet his Pakistani counterpart Khwaja Asif for bilateral talks on the IPI project on Friday.
Dispelling speculation in circles here that India was no longer committed to the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, Deora said New Delhi had been interested in the project for several years and had participated in numerous meetings with the two other countries to finalise arrangements.
Speaking after a meeting here at which India was formally inducted as a full-fledged member in the Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan pipeline project, Deora said: "As far as India is concerned, we want to achieve both projects.
"The prices of fuel and gas are going up almost every day. Our demand for energy is high while the supplies are limited," he said, acknowledging that talks on the IPI project had only been delayed due to the political uncertainty in Pakistan over the past year.
"The meeting with Pakistan on the IPI project was delayed due to the local circumstances. The situation was not right (for talks)," he said.
He also dispelled speculation that New Delhi was showing renewed interest in the IPI project because Pakistan had recently hinted that it would rope in China if India stayed away from the project.
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The meeting on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- Pakistan-India pipeline ends tomorrow and Deora is scheduled to meet his Pakistani counterpart Khwaja Asif for bilateral talks on the IPI project on Friday.
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