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NEW DELHI, March 10 (AFP): Officials from India, Pakistan and Iran will meet in Tehran next week to discuss a pipeline project for the export of Iranian natural gas to South Asia, an Indian oil ministry official said.
The 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) pipeline, valued at over seven billion dollars, was first proposed in 1994 but progress has been slowed by tensions between India and Pakistan, neighbours and nuclear-armed rivals.
"Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan will lead the Indian delegation, which will arrive in Iran on Monday for three days of official talks," the official said.
India, which imports 70 percent of the oil it consumes, is keen to import natural gas to meet growing energy needs.
The pipeline would supply gas from the massive South Pars offshore fields.
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