Talks on IPI project next week

Trilateral talks between India, Iran and Pakistan to discuss the project and framework agreement of their $7 billion transnational pipeline project would be held in Tehran next week.

The talks are scheduled for May 27-28 to discuss modalities of the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project, Pakistani officials said.

Although the exact agenda of the meeting is not known, officials are likely to deliberate on the project structure and framework agreements.

The pipeline, which will span 2,300 kilometres, will initially carry around 60

million cubic meters of gas a day.

The Pakistan Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources, meanwhile, has observed that the IPI project is very useful and of great significance.

The committee, which met at the Parliament House yesterday under the chairmanship of Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas, took stock of the fact that greater amounts of oil and gas would be required to sustain the current growth rate and to meet future requirements. It called upon the government to pursue the project vigorously.