India to cooperate with Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan for gas exploration

New Delhi, Apr 15 (UNI) India and the Central Asian nations of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan have agreed to cooperate in several areas including energy and exploration of oil and gas.

Uzbekistan has agreed to open technical-level talks with the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) for enabling the Indian company to start exploration in natural gas in the gas-rich Central Asian country.

In Azerbaijan, the OVL (ONGC Videsh Ltd) and SOCAR, the State-owned oil and gas exploration company of the Central Asian country, have agreed to hold negotiations for OVL investments in the hydro-carbon sector.

India and Azerbaijan also signed an agreement to set up a Joint Inter-governmental Commission on Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation.

The Agreement signed by Mr Jairam Ramesh and Mr Haiyder Babayev, Minister for Economic Development of Azerbaijan, is expected to provide a fillip to both commercial and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

India has also offered technical assistance to Azerbaijan to facilitate its entry into the WTO.

The two Central Asian countries also agreed to consider proposals from MMTC/ National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) for gold exploration.

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