The Indian government Monday said it signed an initial pact for a pipeline that will transfer gas from Turkmenistan to the South Asian nation via Afghanistan and Pakistan .

The four nations signed the initial Gas Pipeline Framework Agreement and the Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement, a government statement said.

The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, commonly referred as the TAPI pipeline, involves building 1,680 kilometers of pipeline with a capacity to transfer 90 million cubic meters a day gas.

With the completion of TAPI gas pipeline, India would get 38 mmscmd of gas.

India, the world's fastest growing major economy after China, has been seeking to acquire oil and gas assets overseas and enter into long-term supply contracts to meet its own growing energy demands. In March, it agreed to source 4 million tons additional gas from Qatar .

In May India's oil minister, Murli Deora, said he had offered to invest in Turkmenistan's natural gas producing fields and set up a petrochemical plant in the Central Asian country as it seeks to secure its own energy supplies.

Although India 's federal cabinet has already given an in-principle approval to the Gas pipeline Framework Agreement, the final signing would take place only after the cabinet approves the document, the ministry statement said.

Junior Oil Minister Jitin Prasada, who signed the agreement Monday, said that for the project to be a success, all stakeholders should aim to keep the transit fee for the gas through various countries at a minimum and and to properly address security issues. Pricing and other GSPA issues should be resolved to the full satisfaction of all partner countries, he said.

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