Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri said on Saturday that Iran, India and Pakistan were close to concluding a gas pipeline deal totalling 7 billion U.S. dollars.

Vaziri, who is currently in Qatar's capital Doha for the International Energy Forum which kicked off on Saturday, told reporters that there was "a good understanding" between Iran, India and Pakistan for building the pipeline named the "Peace Gas Pipeline", according to reports reaching here.

"I hope the three countries can reach a conclusion (of the deal) at their June meeting in Tehran," he said after a trilateral meeting with senior Indian and Pakistani officials in Doha.

The pipeline will transmit Iranian gas through Pakistan to India.

Vaziri made the statement as the three-day International Energy Forum brought together representatives of scores of countries worldwide and a bunch of leading global energy companies to discuss record oil prices.

Iran has the second biggest gas reserves in the world, only after Russia.

Source: Xinhua