India Saturday signed agreements to import natural gas from Turkmenistan through an ADB-based USD 7.6 billion gas pipeline passing through Pakistan and Afghanistan. Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora signed the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) and the Gas Pipeline Framework Agreement for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline here. "Today is a very important day, not just for India, but for all the countries (in the TAPI project)," he said at the signing ceremony attended by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, according to a report of the Press Trust of India (PTI). The IGA signed Saturday "offers guarantee for the security and safety of the pipeline as also of the personnel involved in the project." "We are here because of our commitment to a "pipeline of peace," which would pass through our countries for our mutual benefit and prosperity," he said, adding India needs gas from the Central Asian nation to meet energy needs of its fast growing economy. The TAPI pipeline has been proposed to transport gas from the gas fields in Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a Lead Development Partner of the Project. The total length of the pipeline passing through Afghanistan and Pakistan is 1,650 kilometers before entering India at Fazilka, Punjab. As per the plan, 38 million standard cubic meters per day of gas would go to India and Pakistan each while 14 mmscmd would be bought by Afghanistan.
