India says ready to import more gas and oil from US to expand trade

India's foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Wednesday the country is open to importing more oil and gas from the United States.

"We expressed our readiness to import more gas and more oil from United States as a way of expanding trade," Gokhale told reporters on the sidelines of an Asian summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The United States early this month re-imposed sanctions against Iran's oil exports to punish Tehran for its involvement in several Middle Eastern conflicts and curb its nuclear programmes.

But fearing a price spike, Washington granted a sanctions waiver to eight of the biggest buyers of Iran's oil, including India.

 

India is expected to import about $4 billion of oil from the United States this year, Gokhale said.