Monday, December 12, 2005
India's Oil Diplomacy
Indo-Pak pipeline: Iran open to Russia's involvemnet
Agence France-Presse
Tehran, December 12, 2005
Iran is open to Russian involvement in an ambitious multibillion dollar plan to supply India and Pakistan with piped natural gas, the foreign ministry was quoted as saying on Monday.
"The issue has been brought up. Russia is a powerful country with advanced technology. If the Indians and Pakistanis agree, and I don't think they would have serious opposition, these countries can cooperate and go ahead with the project," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said.
In June, India signed a deal worth $22 billion for Tehran to supply five million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually over a 25-year period from 2009 and also a memorandum of cooperation on the construction of a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline from Iran through Pakistan.
The 2,600-kilometre link is expected to cost more than $7 billion.
Russia has voiced its interest in the project. The country is already involved in an $800 million deal to build Iran's first nuclear power station.
© HT Media Ltd. 2005.