Mottaki: Tehran ready to settle India-Pakistan issues

Tehran, Dec 31, IRNA - Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday evening voiced Tehran's
readiness to help settle the existing issues between India and Pakistan.

In a meeting with Advisor to Pakistan's Ministry for Petroleum and
Natural Resources Asim Hussain, he added that creation of new tension
in the region is not good to resolve the problems of South Asia.

Mottaki regretted that a number of foreign countries are trying to
make the region insecure, adding that they are also trying to escalate
extremism in the region.

He then referred to holding the two countries Joint Economic
Commission session as preparatory to promote all-out ties between the
two neighboring states.

Underlining the need for expansion of economic cooperation, Mottaki
called for implementing the agreements already signed by the two sides.

Referring to Iran-Pakistan economic relations as growing, Hussain
called for further boost in bilateral energy cooperation.

A Pakistani six-member delegation, headed by Hussain, arrived in
Tehran Tuesday to hold talks on the multi-billion dollars
Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project.

The IPI project is a 2,775 km pipeline to carry Iran's natural gas to
Pakistan and India. The project, estimated to be completed in three to
five years time, is expected to benefit energy-starved India and
Pakistan.

Pakistan will import 2.2 billion cubic feet gas per day from Iran that
will be shared by India.

The pipeline will be supplied from South Pars field. The initial
capacity of the pipeline will be 22 bcm of natural gas per annum, and
this is expected to be raised later to 55 bcm.

The construction is to start in 2009 and the pipeline is expected to
be completed in September 2012.


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