TEHRAN, Dec 20: Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri and his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, on Wednesday held talks on a clutch of issues, notably the $7 billion pipeline through Pakistan that will link Iran’s abundant gas reserves, the world’s second biggest, to India’s expanding economy.

Mr Kasuri, who is in Iran on a two-day visit, flew to Kermanshah in the western part of Iran to call on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He also met Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who in 2002 was appointed head of the powerful Expediency Council.

The plan to pump Iranian gas to India through Pakistan was first proposed more than a decade ago, but progress has been slow because of hostility between India and Pakistan and, more recently, US opposition to Iran because of its nuclear programme.

The two foreign ministers reviewed various aspects of Pakistan-Iran relations and expressed their resolve to consolidate political, economic and trade relations between the two countries. They also expressed their resolve to continue their efforts against terrorism and organized crime.

Mr Kasuri said the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, which is expected to carry 150 million cubic metres of gas per day for 25 years, would bring Islamabad and Tehran even closer.

He pointed out that Pakistan and Iran, which share borders with strife-torn Afghanistan, could play a significant role in the reconstruction of the land-locked country.

Mr Kasuri briefed Mr Rafsanjani, who recently sealed a landslide win for a seat on the Assembly of Experts, about Pakistan’s position on Iran’s nuclear issue. Mr Rafsanjani said Pakistan-Iran friendship and cooperation could go a long way towards creating unity within the Muslims.—Online