NEW DELHI, Feb 16: Petroleum Minister Amanullah Khan Jadoon arrived here on Thursday for talks with his new Indian counterpart Murli Deora that would include discussions on a possible trilateral meeting with Iran to push for the three-nation gas pipeline project.

If all goes well, and the Indian cabinet gives its approval, the first joint working group of the three countries could meet in Tehran in March followed by a meeting of their petroleum ministers in April to give shape to the $7 billion deal, official sources said.

Since the pipeline is being opposed by the United States and US President George W. Bush is due to visit India and Pakistan next month, the two oil ministers in their meeting on Friday are not expected to ignore the difficulties they face. Sources said the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan pipeline option is being increasingly seen by India as an attractive alternative.

A technical committee involving experts from India and Pakistan met here in January and the outcome will be discussed. The outcome would be reflected in a Joint Working Group meeting, their fourth, to be held in Islamabad in March.

The Economic Times said the next phase after arriving at a consensus on the technical specifications of the pipeline would be the official level trilateral meeting to hammer out details on the gas quantity, quality and pricing and also the transit fee India would have to pay Pakistan.

Besides the pipeline projects, India and Pakistan are expected to discuss cooperation in other areas and also likely to agree to export petroleum products from India, the newspaper said.

It said Mr Jadoon would also meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his three-day visit “to carry forward talks on plans to import gas from Iran and Turkmenistan.”