(a) whether India wants Iran to take the responsibility of the gas pipeline passing through Pakistan;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether India also wants to make payments only after gas is received in India;
(d) if so, the details thereof;
(e) the views of Iran in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI S.M. KRISHNA)
(a) to (e) India has been involved in discussions on the India-Pakistan-Iran (IPI) pipeline
project. Among the issues that have been focussed upon relating to the pipeline project are
those relating to pricing, transit fee and transportation tariff, point of delivery, project
structure and security of the pipeline. Such multilateral projects involve protracted
discussions, as all the aspects have to be carefully examined and deliberated upon to the
satisfaction of the participating countries to protect each country’s interests and to avoid
any problems in the future in the successful operation of the Project. India and Iran have
agreed for an early meeting of the India-Iran bilateral Joint Working Group on Oil And Gas,
which discusses bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, including the IPI Gas pipeline
project.