Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.18
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran and Pakistan will resume talks in Tehran today to set a new timeframe for the implementation of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, the Shana News Agency reported on January 18.
The meeting, which will draw representatives of the Pakistani ministries of Petroleum, Law, Defence and Finance, will decide the fate of the gas pipeline keeping in view the threat of embargo, The Express Tribune reported.
It will also consider a way out in an attempt to avoid penalties if the government abandons the project, for which Iran has almost completed its part of the pipeline.
The Pakistani delegation is expected to discuss an array of issues including the penalty, extending the deadline and renegotiating the agreed gas price.
Iran has already built 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its own soil and is waiting for the 700-kilometer Pakistani side of the pipeline to be constructed.
The IP pipeline is designed to help Pakistan overcome its growing energy needs at a time when the country of over 180 million people is grappling with serious energy shortages.