NEW DELHI, Feb 8: Iran has proposed a tripartite summit with India and Pakistan to agree on a gas pipeline deal but the suddenness of the idea has prompted New Delhi to reserve comment, Indian news reports said on Thursday.
“The summit proposal — which took External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his delegation somewhat by surprise — was made by Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at a joint press conference (in Tehran on Wednesday),” The Hindu said in a Front Page report.
Mr Mottaki apparently unexpectedly offered during the Indian foreign minister’s ongoing visit to Tehran to host the summit between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Gen Pervez Musharraf and President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to sign a final agreement on the 2,700-km long pipeline.
Because President Gen Musharraf had only recently visited Tehran for a closely watched meeting with President Ahmedinejad, it is thought that perhaps the idea for the pipeline summit was discussed first between the two.
Whether the move succeeds or gets shot down by India will become clear when Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri arrives in Delhi for a four-day visit on Feb 20, official sources said.
The official reason for Mr Kasuri’s visit being whispered on Thursday highlights bilateral agreements, including nuclear risk reduction and the release of each other’s detained inmates. If an agreement is also reached on an early visit by the Indian prime minister to Islamabad, the Delhi Saarc summit in April could be a major beneficiary, possibly signalling Gen Musharraf's participation.
As far as The Hindu report goes, Indian officials told the newspaper that Dr Singh could visit Iran this year if ongoing negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement and a double tax avoidance agreement could be concluded quickly. Further movement on their energy and economic fronts was also a factor.
While Mr Mottaki chose to refer to the project as the “peace pipeline,” Mr Mukherjee preferred the formal description of ‘Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline,’ The Hindu observed.
