NEW DELHI, May 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet on Thursday gave approval to India to join the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) gas pipeline project.

The decision came four days before a separate trilateral meeting of petroleum officials begins in Islamabad as part of the working group consultations on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI), a project opposed by the US.

Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, briefing parliament about the proposed Islamabad meeting, denied reports that there was an agreement between Iran and Pakistan to allow for a higher off-take of gas for Islamabad from the IPI pipeline.

An official announcement on Thursday said that after the Indian cabinet’s nod for the Turkmenistan project, its name would change to Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) natural gas pipeline project.