India-Iran-Gas
The $ 7.4 billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline will once again be the focal point of discussions during the two-day visit of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Tehran.

Mukherjee is scheduled to visit Tehran from July 29-30 to attend the India-Iran Joint Commission meeting.

Following pressure from the Left parties last month, the UPA government stated it was ready to give a final shape to the IPI pipeline and indicated that Mukherjee's visit could well be used to break the ice between the two nations and pave the way for trilateral talks, a leading english daily Hindu reported here Friday.

"The project is very vital from the energy security point of view and the deficiency that India faced in gas supplies. The government wants the project to go through and this could be the occasion to put all issues in the right perspective," a senior Petroleum Ministry official said.

The government has drawn flak for not doing much to see the project through and wilting under alleged US pressure not to deal with Iran.

During his visit to India, Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on April 29 had set a 45-day deadline for sorting out all issues pertaining to the project but there has been no progress.

Officials said India would be discussing with Iran "safety and security" issues that were taken up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Ahmadinejad.

India had wanted Tehran to hand over the custody of gas at the India-Pakistan border and not at the Iran-Pakistan border, as suggested by Iran, to cut down the risk of transit through Pakistan.