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| Pranab's Iran visit on Feb 6-7 to focus on Tehran's nuclear programme | | | New Delhi, Jan 28
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will visit Iran for two days on February 6 and 7 to take forward the bilateral relations, which suffered a set back after New Delhi voted against Tehran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last year.
The visit assumes significance as it comes in the wake of the hope expressed by New Delhi and Moscow, during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, that "an effective solution to the Iranian nuclear issue is best found through political and diplomatic efforts".
"In this regard, the unanimous adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1737 is significant. It underscores the need for more active and transparent cooperation of Iran with the IAEA in order to resolve outstanding verification issues," the Indo-Russia joint-statement has said.
Other issues, like non-implementation of the bilateral liquefied natural gas deal and the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline are also likely figure prominently in the discussions during Pranab's visit.
The visit will be the first by an Indian External Affairs Minister after former Foreign Minister Natwar Singh visited Iran in September 2005.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had said early last year in the Lok Sabha that Iran has the legal right to develop peaceful nuclear energy. The statement had come after India voted in favour of the IAEA's resolution on February four, which sought to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over its nuclear programme.
In a 27-3 vote, India had joined the chorus in expressing concern over Tehran's nuclear programme, which they said, might not be "exclusively for peaceful purposes".
A EU resolution, backed by the US, had called for referring Iran to the UNSC with 27 countries voting in favour of the motion. Only three countries -- Cuba, Syria and Venezuela-had voted against the motion
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