NEW DELHI, 3 August 2006 — Snubbing attempts made to derail the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, trilateral talks are scheduled today and tomorrow in the capital city. Despite Indo-Pak relations having suffered a slight setback because of the recent Bombay blasts and despite increasing geopolitical regional tension, a senior official expressed his optimism on the talks even though no final resolution on pricing is expected.
“Considering Iran’s keenness to get a gas price linked to crude oil prices and India’s and Pakistan’s eagerness to get energy supplies at prices that is more affordable, the fact that the dialogue is continuing is a very good sign,” a senior official said. The talks are expected to prepare ground for a meeting of oil ministers from the three countries in Tehran later this month.
Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs Mohammed-Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian is leading the Iranian delegation while Pakistan will be represented by the prime minister’s energy adviser Ahmed Mukhtar.
