Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer said here on Thursday that framework for the Iran- Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline project would be finalized next year.

He informed the Indian parliament that there were no differences with Iran over the project, and that two joint working groups had already been formed to work out the modalities.

In fact, he said that India-Iran and India-Pakistan joint working groups had already met twice in this regard.

With the efforts of the working groups, the framework agreement would be ready early next year, the minister said.

Source: Xinhuaped countries and developing countries were quarreling over agricultural subsidies and market access.

"Freer global agricultural trade regime could lead to increased prices for agricultural commodities that are presently highly protected, including basic foodstuffs," the statement quoted Haen as saying, indicating that will benefit developing countries.

However, the UN agency called for "safety nets" to protect " vulnerable groups" from trade related shocks and to "allow the poor to take advantage of the economic opportunities".

Source: Xinhua