When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stops over in New Delhi on Tuesday for a few hours, the visit - his first after assuming power in Tehran nearly three years ago - will be watched keenly not only in this country but the rest of the world, particularly the United States. With the India-US nuclear deal slipping into limbo, the Manmohan Singh government has shrewdly sensed the importance of reaffirming its ties with Iran, both as a placatory gesture towards its Leftist allies opposing the nuclear deal and as a pragmatic alternative source of energy for the country''s growing economy.
With decks cleared for the construction of the US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, India is now focusing on the pricing issue with Tehran and transit fee with Islamabad to get the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipelines off the ground. This could prove crucial for the country''s energy security if the nuclear deal does not get through. Oil ministers of India and Pakistan met in Islamabad last week and agreed to sign a bilateral agreement and to start construction of the pipeline by 2010. India also wants to put back on track a floundering $25 billion deal for getting 5 million tonnes a year of LNG from Iran for the next 25 years.
With decks cleared for the construction of the US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, India is now focusing on the pricing issue with Tehran and transit fee with Islamabad to get the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipelines off the ground. This could prove crucial for the country''s energy security if the nuclear deal does not get through. Oil ministers of India and Pakistan met in Islamabad last week and agreed to sign a bilateral agreement and to start construction of the pipeline by 2010. India also wants to put back on track a floundering $25 billion deal for getting 5 million tonnes a year of LNG from Iran for the next 25 years.
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