TEHRAN (FNA)- A Pakistani energy delegation is slated to pay a visit to Iran in the near future to discuss expediting the implementation of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, Iranian oil ministry announced on Sunday."Tehran and Islamabad are determined to implement their gas exports contract and a Pakistani delegation will travel to Iran soon to expedite construction of the gas export pipeline to Iran," the oil ministry said on Sunday.
The ministry noted that Tehran and Islamabad have close cooperation to accomplish the IP gas pipeline despite their differences in this regard.
Last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Pakistani counterpart Hanna Rabbani called on relevant officials to do their best to remove the existing barriers to the expedition of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.
In a meeting in New York, the two sides pointed out that more delay in implementation of the pipeline in Pakistani soil is not economic, and vowed to coordinate efforts to make the fruitful project operational in near future.
The Iranian and Pakistani foreign ministers also underlined the need for increasing the trade transactions volume and strengthening cooperation between the two countries' trade ministries and their interior ministries to increase the security of the borders to prevent drug trafficking, illegal trespassing and activities of the terrorist groups.
Iran wishes to export its natural gas to Pakistan, India and China through the pipeline.
Iran has already built its 900-kilometer share of the pipeline on its own soil and is waiting for the 700-kilometer Pakistani side of the pipeline to be built.
Iran and Pakistan signed an agreement over the construction of a gas pipeline in 1995. Later, Iran made a proposal to extend the pipeline from Pakistan into India. In February 1999, an accord between Iran and India was signed.
But due to the US pressure, India withdrew from the project in 2009.
By Fars News Agency
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