(www.irna.ir) вЂ" Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Wednesday assessed his talks with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in political and economic fields as positive.
He made the remark at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart, adding that during the negotiations, formation of a joint economic commission was underlined.
Meanwhile, Mottaki reiterated the need for expansion of bilateral relations.
Turning to the six-billion-dollar exchanges between the two countries, he hoped for further broadening of cooperation in future, reports Trend.
Mottaki pointed to the energy sector as a major field of cooperation between Iran and India, and said, "Given eight percent economic growth rate in India, the country needs a reliable supplier of energy. As a reliable partner, Iran can have a share in supplying the energy required by the Asian states and play a role in their development and progress."
He added that at the meeting, Mukherjee expounded on the latest developments in the US-India talks on nuclear cooperation.
Mottaki noted that during his talks with the Indian foreign minister, the significance of peace, security and stability in Iraq was underlined.
"Besides, the need for unity and consensus among all Palestinian groups was also on the agenda of talks.
"The common concerns of both countries on Afghanistan's current situation were also discussed at the meeting and the need for helping President Hamid Karzai's government was stressed," said the minister.
Mottaki said that one of the major topics on the agenda of talks was about the `Peace Pipeline', hoping that the normal trend of the relevant negotiations will continue until the issue is finalized.
He also declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's proposal for holding the Iran-India-Pakistan tripartite heads of states summit in Tehran.
The Iranian minister hoped that the Peace Pipeline experts will soon finalize the issue so that the agreement on the relevant project will be signed at the upcoming tripartite summit, which is a manifestation of friendship and close cooperation.
For his part, the Indian minister referred to Iran and India as two regional countries with great civilizations, and urged the need for expansion of mutual relations.
He added that purchase of LNG from Iran was among the main issues on the agenda of his talks with Mottaki.
Mukherjee referred to Iran's nuclear issue and said that it should be solved peacefully through talks.
Stressing that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should play a decisive role to this end, he said, "A solution based on talks and a peaceful approach can be materialized through close cooperation between Iran and IAEA. Besides, both sides should be flexible.
The Indian minister referred to Iran's important role in the security and stability of the Middle East, saying that expansion of ties with Iran is of great significance to his country.
In response to a question about the demolition of part of al-Aqsa mosque by the Zionist regime, Mottaki said that the move shows Israel's extensive planning to remove Islamic monuments at Muslims' noble sanctuary in Jerusalem.
"Iran condemns such measures and given deployment of Qods committee in Morocco, we have called on Moroccan officials to take the necessary measures in this regard," he added.
Meanwhile, replying to a question about the sensitivity of American officials to Iran-India relations, the Indian minister said that Iran-India ties are based on inter-civilizational
communications.
"Such relations are independent of our ties with any third country," said Mukherjee..