NEW DELHI, Oct 1: India hopes to settle transit fee issue of Iranian gas with Pakistan. Media reports, quoting Indian petroleum secretary M.S. Srinivasan, said: “We hope to settle the transit fee issue with Pakistan after their presidential elections. Once we do that, we will go to Tehran for a tri-nation pact.

“We have never said that we are pulling out of the IPI (Iran-Pakistan-India) project. We are part of it and will continue pursuing import of gas from Iran through the three-nation pipeline. We have told Iran clearly that we want to settle the transit fee issue with Pakistan before signing a tri-nation pipeline deal,” the secretary said.

He further said: “We had communicated to Special Representative of Iran’s Petroleum Ministry Hojatollah Ghanimi-Fard and Pakistan’s Petroleum Secretary Farrakh Qayyum

that we will not be attending

the trilateral meeting (held recently in Iran) unless bilateral issues are resolved with Pakistan.”

For the supply of gas from Iran to India under this $7.5 billion project, Tehran will supply gas at a designated point on Pakistan border. India will enter into agreements separately with Pakistan and Iran for delivery of gas.—APP