Pervez Musharraf holds talks with Ahmadinejad on IPI project

ISLAMABAD: Amid efforts to arrive at a consensus on the pricing formula before the forthcoming tripartite meeting on the Iran, Pakistan and India (IPI) gas pipeline project, President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday held telephonic talks with his Iranian counterpart Mahmud Ahmadinejad and discussed measures to "expedite" it.

The two leaders agreed to remove impediments in the seven billion dollar 2,600 km gas pipeline project that aims at supplying natural gas from Iran to Pakistan and then onwards to India, an official statement here said about Musharraf-Ahmadinejad talks.

Both leaders also discussed the tariff issue and called for an early resolution of the gas price mechanism and commencement of the project.

President Musharraf said the project will be a win-win for the people of the two countries and will further strengthen their strong brotherly ties, it said.

Earlier, a Pakistan Petroleum official said Islamabad believed that a "consensus" formula will emerge in the forthcoming tripartite meeting between Indian, Iranian and Pakistan officials in Tehran to finalise the project.

"There is a room for consensus in the report of the UK-based consultant Gaffiney Caline & Associates over its proposed gas tariff for the IPI project," Pakistan's petroleum and natural resources secretary Ahmad Waqar said.