India will sign a long-awaited agreement today to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan through a pipeline that would cross Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Official sources said in New Delhi yesterday that Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy has left for Ashgabat via Amritsar for the signing of the agreement.

Turkmenistan ,Afghanistan, Pakistan and India will sign the gas sales and purchase agreement for TAPI pipeline during an international gas conference in the Caspian Sea resort of Avaza.

AShgabat

Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have agreed in principle on transit fees for TAPI gas pipeline project. A press release issued by the Afghan ministry of mines in Kabul yesterday says that the greement was reached at a meeting between senior officials of the three countries in Islamabad. Prior to this meeting Afghan Minister of Mines Wahidullah Shahrani had visited Turkmenistan and discussed the project with Turkmen President and other high ranking officials of the country. A quardilateral summit of the four countries will now be held in Ashgabat on 24 May to sign the respective Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) setting out agreed rates and transit fees of gas. Formalities including finalization of other TAPI project documents would also be completed at the same time. Inter governmental MoU of TAPI had already been signed by the presidents of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Indian Petrolium Minister last year.