NEW DELHI, Feb 21: Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi said on Monday the approval of a pipeline project to bring Iranian gas to India via Pakistan would encourage regional peace and trade.

Mr Kharazi is on a two-day visit that will include talks on trade and the pipeline with Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh. The meeting was delayed until 4:00pm (0330pm PST) on Monday.

He will also meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and give a speech to the Indian Council for World Affairs on Tuesday. "Fortunately the Indian government's recent approval of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline has created an encouraging atmosphere for pushing ahead this highly important project which no doubt would have positive impact on regional convergence," Mr Kharazi said in prepared remarks to reporters.

Indian Oil Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar has been pushing the five-year 2,775-kilometre pipeline project to meet the country's growing energy needs. The cabinet has authorised him to go ahead with the project even though some in the government oppose it because nuclear neighbour Pakistan would benefit from the deal.

Those concerns have eased in the last year because of a peace dialogue between India and Pakistan. Aiyar is due to visit Tehran in June to firm up the 4.05-billion-dollar deal. India is predicted to require 400 million cubic meters of gas per day by 2025, up from today's 90 million cubic meters.

"We have also agreed to look at a pipeline through Pakistan subject to satisfaction of our concerns related to security and assured supplies," India's Singh said at the time after talks with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Kasuri. Negotiations began in 1994 but little headway was made because of tensions. -AFP