India, Pakistan plan energy talks

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Pakistani officials said they would discuss a series of bilateral concerns with India, including energy, during an upcoming U.N. meeting planned for September.

Abdul Basit, a spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign Office, expressed confidence that both countries could make progress on a series of concerns at a September meeting in New York, the Associated Press of Pakistan reports.

He said it was important that both countries make hard decisions to resolve lingering bilateral issues between the two nuclear-armed foes.

The spokesman added that, in terms of energy, a natural gas pipeline from South Pars gas field was still in the works.

Iran and Pakistan signed a bilateral agreement on Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline in June, with Pakistan securing 50 million cubic feet of gas per day for the generation of some 5,000 megawatts of energy under the terms of the 25-year contract.

The role for New Delhi in IPI was a point of speculation. Its Western allies oppose any project that provides economic benefits to Iran, including IPI. India has also secured a deal for civilian nuclear energy with the United States, allaying some energy concerns.

Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, however, said in July that the IPI pipeline is in the national interest of his country.