Pakistan, India and Iran are likely to meet in March next year to carry forward the negotiations on the tri-nation gas pipeline, even as the issue of gas pricing remains to be addressed.
Both India and Iran have agreed that the gas price structure in context of the international and regional market situation would be chalked out in subsequent meetings.
Iranian Deputy Petroleum Minister M H Nejad Hosseinian said the proposed pipeline was a symbol of the close friendship between the two nations for over several centuries. He dismissed suggestions that the project might face difficulties due to American sanctions on Iran, saying the sanctions were never implemented in real terms.
Numerous American companies were still doing business in Tehran, he said and hoped that India would not be affected by the talk about sanctions. Hosseinian said Tehran had a strong will to implement the project as it would bring peace and prosperity to the region and hoped India too would extend its support.
Emerging from the meeting of the Indo-Iran Joint Working Group on the concluding day Thursday, Petroleum Secretary S C Tripathi said the discussions in the past two days had been fruitful, but there was "variation in pricing of gas". India's concerns on gas pricing had been conveyed to the Iranian delegation and the latter had agreed to take note of it, he said.
The Iranians reiterated their commitment to sale and purchase of gas at the Indian border and also agreed to the Indian suggestion to study other alternatives proposed by India. On the framework pact, both sides agreed on its early finalisation and also on arriving early at a consensual view relating to the project structure.
They agreed that comments on those provisions of the agreement that did not refer to the project structure would be exchanged in January 2006.
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