Pakistan said on Friday that "substantial progress" had been
achieved over the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline in the first
trilateral meeting in Tehran.
The petroleum secretaries of Pakistan, India and the deputy
petroleum minister of Iran will meet in Islamabad next month to
finalize agenda for the ministerial meeting on the multi-billion
gas pipeline, the Pakistani foreign office said on Friday.
They held their first trilateral meeting in Tehran on March
14-15, 2006 to discuss the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline
project. The next trilateral meeting will consider outstanding
issues and prepare agenda for the meeting of the three Petroleum
Ministers to be held in held in Tehran, according to the Pakistani
foreign office.
Also on Friday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that
his country would take decision on the multi-billion
Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project in the best interest
of the country.
The United States has been asking Pakistan and India not to go
ahead with the 2,600 kilometers gas pipeline.
(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2006)
