Pakistan said on Friday that "substantial progress" had been achieved over the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline in the first trilateral meeting in Tehran.

The petroleum secretaries of Pakistan, India and the deputy petroleum minister of Iran will meet in Islamabad next month to finalize agenda for the ministerial meeting on the multi-billion gas pipeline, the Pakistani foreign office said on Friday.

They held their first trilateral meeting in Tehran on March 14-15, 2006 to discuss the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. The next trilateral meeting will consider outstanding issues and prepare agenda for the meeting of the three Petroleum Ministers to be held in held in Tehran, according to the Pakistani foreign office.

Also on Friday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that his country would take decision on the multi-billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project in the best interest of the country.

The United States has been asking Pakistan and India not to go ahead with the 2,600 kilometers gas pipeline.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2006)