Region | Iran
Ahmadinejad forges gas ties with South Asia
Pakistani foreign minister hints agreement will be signed after Musharraf gets reciprocal invite to Tehran
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 April 29, 2008
- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left) and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani prior to their meeting in Islamabad.
- Image Credit: AP
Islamabad: Iran and Pakistan announced they had settled all issues relating to plans for a $7.6 billion (Dh27.9 billion) gas pipeline during a visit to Islamabad yesterday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Pakistan's foreign minister said.
The project to pipe gas to India and Pakistan was discussed when Ahmadinejad stopped briefly on his way to Sri Lanka to meet Pakistani leaders before flying on for an official visit to Sri Lanka.
"A 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," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters.
"And they recognised that all outstanding issues have been resolved and the Iranian president will soon invite the Pakistani president to visit Tehran where an agreement will be signed."
If all goes well, construction could start next year and the pipeline, linking the world's second largest gas reserves to the fast growing South Asian economies, could be completed by 2012.
During a visit lasting just a few hours, Ahmadinejad met President Pervez Musharraf before holding talks with new Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
The visit came hard on the heels of talks between the Indian and Pakistani oil ministers.
Dinner: Singh to play host
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will host a private dinner today for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a gesture that seeks to underline warming ties between India and Iran.
"The prime minister will host a private dinner at his 7 Race Course residence for the Iranian president after the talks," official sources said.
"It's an important gesture that shows India attaches great importance to developing relations with Iran," the sources said.
The Iranian president will return to Tehran after the dinner.
Manmohan Singh and Ahmadinejad will discuss a host of bilateral, regional and international issues to intensify political, economic and energy ties between the two countries.
The two leaders are expected to give a political push to the $7.5 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline that will bring the Iranian gas to India via Pakistan.
- IANS
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