New Delhi
17 November 2009
Iran says that the door is open for India to join the Iran-Pakistan-India gas
pipeline but the opportunity may not be there tomorrow if the structure of the project
changes, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
"We have a bilateral arrangement with Pakistan and the door is open for our Indian
friends. That (IPI) will be a reality [but] I am not sure about the future," Mr Mottaki said
Tuesday after delivering his lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) here.
"But when you consider this pipeline bilaterally, there is a definite capacity. If we make
commitments with other partners, with other pipelines, to other regions, in such a case
may be in the future the structure of the project may change. I do hope to have Indian
participation as soon as possible," he elaborated.
Mr Mottaki said that more than 100 km of the pipeline has already been laid on the
Iranian side and the Pakistani side has also "started action" on its side of the border.
The issue was discussed during his interactions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna Monday.
"During our negotiations, there were some questions and concerns and they needed
some more consideration on this project," Mr Mottaki said.
Earlier delivering a speech, Mr Mottaki pitched for creation of a unified Asian framework
for better coordination among countries on strategic issues. He said that Asia lacked a
framework for increasing cooperation within the continent but it had several sub-regional
arrangements such as the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). He noted that Europe spoke in one voice
through the European Union while Africa also had a similar system. Mr Mottaki said that
a pan-Asian framework was necessary as it was this continent that was driving economic
growth when the world was facing a financial slowdown.
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