India, Pakistan must sort out gas pipeline issue, says Iran

HYDERABAD: Iran has said it was for India and Pakistan to sort out issues related to the proposed Indo-Iran gas pipeline, even as it committed itself to complete its part of the project by the end of this year.

"We are ready to bring the Indo-Iran gas pipeline project upto the Iranian border. We hope to do that by the end of the year by completing the pipeline's first stage, which is 800-km ," Vice-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Javad Mohammdizadeh said here today.

The Iranian Vice-President, who also heads the country's Environment Department, was in Hyderabad to attend the ongoing United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Addressing a press conference at the Iranian consulate here this evening, Mohammdizadeh said, "From our side, we have no problem in bringing the gas pipeline to the Iranian border".

Both India and Iran have agreed to the project in principle. The project is, however, getting delayed due to some legal problems.

"Since the pipeline was supposed to run through Pakistan, it is for India to sort it out with its neighbour after it was laid upto the Iranian border," he said.

The issue was discussed during the recent visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Teheran and will be discussed further at the next Indo-Iran Joint Commission meet.

Asked about the cost of the project, the Iranian Vice-President said it would be decided "later".

Noting that trade between India and Iran currently stood at USD 15.8 billion, he said they were looking at increasing the level of economic relationship between the two countries.

"Being the fourth largest economy and one of the top ten energy consumers, India is very important for Iran from an economic point of view. There are strong opportunities in new technologies, information technology, pharmaceuticals and chemical industries for increasing the trade between the two countries," he said.

Iran was using its Chabahar port to facilitate trade between the two countries, he said.

However, he noted that "some countries" didn't like to see India and Iran being friendly with each other though leaders of the two countries were very serious about increasing the level of their relationship.