Mumbai: India will hold talks with Pakistan to resolve differences over the transit fee and transportation tariff for the long-delayed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline.

Petroleum minister Murli Deora is leaving today for the Pakistan capital to participate in the talks on the IPI pipeline project beginning 25 April.

Deora will also take part in discussions on the US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project during April 23-24.

Officials of the four countries in the TAPI project are meeting to prepare for the ministerial-level talks.

India and Pakistan will be holding talks on the $7 billion IPI project for the first time since June last year.

Deora's visit also will be the first formal official-level meeting between India and Pakistan since the new coalition government led by the Pakistan People's Party assumed office last month.

Although senior Indian and Pakistani officials held talks on 16-17 April  to review progress on the IPI project, ahead of Deora's visit no headway has been made in solving the issue of transit fee, which has been the holing up the project.

"We are going to Islamabad at an invitation of Asian Development Bank to attend the steering committee meeting of TAP project. The talks scheduled for April 23-24 will see India joining the project," Deora said.

Besides signing project heads agreement, the four nations would also ink a gas pipeline framework agreement for the pipeline, he said. ADB is the project sponsor.

The US is opposed to Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project as it feels Tehran may use revenues from gas sales to fuel its nuclear programme.

Instead, it is encouraging India and Pakistan to import gas from Turkmenistan to meet their growing energy needs.

The 1,680-km pipeline from Turkmenistan will transport 100 million standard cubic meters per day of gas from the Dauletabad gas field, of which India's share is likely to be 60 mmscmd.

New Delhi has been boycotting talks on IPI project since mid-2007 as it first wanted to resolve the issue of transit fee payable to Islamabad for allowing passage of gas to India.

The two countries have reached broad understanding on the transportation tariff payable to Pakistan for wheeling the gas through that country. But the two nations have not yet agreed on payment of a separate transit fee to Pakistan for allowing passage of the fuel.