07 October 2004	Thursday	21 Shaban 1425

NEW DELHI, Oct 6: India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said late Tuesday that New Delhi was seeking to move forward on energy cooperation with Islamabad in the wake of last month's summit between leaders of India and Pakistan.

Though Mr Aiyar said no specific meetings on energy cooperation had yet been set between leaders of the two countries, India was considering the possibility of selling diesel to its neighbour.

He also said a pipeline linking India to Iran's massive gas fields through Pakistan could be a key to ensuring the country's energy security. "If we are seriously fossil-fuel deficient, we will need to have an alternative," said Mr Aiyar. "General improvement of atmosphere could facilitate some types of contact" between India and Pakistan, he said, referring to the proposed pipeline.

The minister said he remained personally "bullish" on India-Pakistan relations. But he said that legal and commercial security was essential for projects in energy to move forward. "There are a huge number of issues" that need to be resolved, said Mr Aiyar. - Dow Jones Newswires