Eurasia Press & News
 Iran’s President defined boosting of cooperation and exchanges with independent states as his country’s definite policy, saying that consolidation of relations and deepening of cooperation among regional countries reinvigorates peace and stability and serves nations’ welfare. According to a statement released by the Presidential Press Office, Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora here in Tehran on Thursday.
During the meeting, the Iranian president said that the two countries’ agreements and cooperation in different areas, specially in the energy sector, accelerate progress of both nations.
Noting the trilateral talks on the establishment of Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) natural gas pipeline – also known as the ‘Peace Pipeline’ – he reminded that despite Pakistan’s preparedness to finalize the contract last year, Iran conceded to provide India with a lengthened opportunity to join the contract, which, he said, shows Iran’s care for multilateral cooperation in the energy sector and assistance to the reinvigoration of regional peace and progress of countries.
The president further pointed to the two nations’ historical background and extensive cultural bonds, and reiterated that bolstering of cooperation and exchanges with independent countries in all areas sets Iran’s definite policy, underlining that consolidation of relations and deepening of cooperation with the regional countries serves nations’ welfare and helps to the reinvigoration of peace and stability.
He also referred to the various and ample potentials for Iran-India cooperation, and said the importance of the two countries’ ties and cooperation surpasses their contracts in the energy sector, and said, “Having rich energy resources, enjoying a particular geographical situation and benefiting from technical experts in the energy sector, Iran plays a significant role in the supply of world energy and it can help India in this ground.”
Ahmadinejad also pointed to the undesirable effects of delayed conclusion of contracts in the energy sector, and stressed the necessity for accelerated endorsement of contracts, given global developments in the domain of energy.
For his part, Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas minister also stressed the significance of the expansion of his country’s ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran in all the different grounds, specially in the oil and gas sectors, and voiced India’s enthusiasm for procuring its energy needs, particularly natural gas, from Iran.
He further expressed the hope that with the two sides’ final agreement on the natural gas contract a new chapter would be opened in the expansion of Iran-India relations, underlining that the bolstering of the two nations’ cooperation would serve development and progress of both countries.
Murli Deora also stressed that the people, government and different parties of India are deeply keen on expanding cooperation with Tehran in different areas, and reminding the two countries’ several-hundred-year-old ties, he voiced readiness of the Indian governmental and private sectors to cooperate with Iran and participate in such Iranian projects as energy plans, steal production industries, construction of refineries and exploitation
