June 24, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 19, 1429

ISLAMABAD, June 23: Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on Monday that his country would soon sign an agreement with Iran and Pakistan to construct a multi-billion dollars gas pipeline.

Deora said some “minor problems” on the pipeline project had been sorted out, BBC reported.

Deora, who attended a meeting of leading oil exporting countries in Saudi Arabia last week, told an Indian news channel that the agreement to construct the IPI gas pipeline would be signed “very soon”.

In April, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that all obstacles holding up the long-delayed project would be resolved within 45 days.

The Indian government has said the project is feasible, but needs to be financially viable with assured supplies.

Meanwhile, reports quoting Indian Petroleum Secretary M. S. Srinivasan said that a trilateral meeting on Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project is likely to be held next month in Tehran.

He said most of the bilateral issues had been resolved and now a trilateral meeting of oil ministers of the three countries is likely to take place in Tehran next month to finalise details of the $ 7.4 billion project.—APP