IPI pipeline to be finalized soon, says Ahmadinejad

India and Iran have put their negotiation on fast track and agreed that oil ministers of the three countries (India,Pakistan and Iran) will submit their final reports within 45 days

New Delhi: India and Iran have put their negotiation on fast track and agreed that oil ministers of the three countries (India,Pakistan and Iran) will submit their final reports within 45 days to pave the way for the $7.5 billion transnational pipeline that will bring gas from Iran to India, via Pakistan.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "Oil ministers of India, Iran and Pakistan will finalize their conclusion within 45 days and submit their report to the leaders of their respective countries. We are hopeful that we will be able to finalize the pipeline soon."

The Iranian leader replying to a query on whether the pipeline featured in the talks said, "Discussions were positive. Hope that it will be finalized in the near future."

Earlier, Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon had said in a separate briefing that India had asked for the gas pipeline project to be economically and commercially viable. He also said that India also raised its traditional concerns about the security of the pipeline and continuity of supply. Menon added that both sides felt that trade should be tripled from the present $10 billion soon.

Taking potshots at the US' “bullying power” Ahmadinejad said that Washington was trying to deprive other nations like Iran of peaceful uses of nuclear energy and was responsible for spreading chaos and instability in the region.

Whether Manmohan Singh expressed any concern about the nature of Iran's nuclear program?, Ahmadinejad replied that the government of India supports peaceful activities of the Iranian nuclear programme. We are two friends. There is no place for concern or worry.

Intensly defending Iran's right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, Ahmadinejad said, "All cooperation with IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is going in a usual way."

The Iranian president arrived in India On Tuesday evening on his way to Srilanka. Ahmadinejad met with the President Pratibha Patil. This was followed by a three-hours talk with the Indian prime minister. The Iranians gave a detailed briefing on the nuclear issue during the talks. Ahmadinejad also met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Secretary Menon and National Security Advisor M K Narayanan. (IANS)

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