India 'strongly committed' to TAPI pipeline project: Govt

Speaking at the 25th Session of Steering Committee on Implementation of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project here, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said TAPI's uninterrupted gas flow will be extremely important for India's energy security.

"Today, given the energy requirements in India, there are several gas pipeline proposals before us. We are, however, strongly committed to TAPI Pipeline project," he said.

He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Turkmenistan in July 2015 termed the TAPI Project as the "most significant initiative in our relationship".

"The TAPI project is more than the sum of four nations' interests. It creates a benchmark for regional cooperation in a region that could certainly do with more cooperation," said Akbar, who is leading a delegation comprising representatives from Ministries of Petroleum, External Affairs and GAIL, which represents India in the TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd (TPCL).

The delegation also includes for the first time senior official level representation from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), which is India's largest public sector refiner and marketing company. It is also one of the largest offtaker of gas, including from the proposed TAPI pipeline.

Noting that India is world's third largest energy consumer and fourth largest importer of Liquefied natural gas, Akbar said India's energy requirement is increasing steadily. "Our Prime Minister has been emphasising the four pillars of his energy vision - Energy Access, Energy Efficiency, Energy Sustainability and Energy Security. We see reflection of all these four pillars of prime minister's vision in the TAPI Pipeline," he said.