India and China Express Interest in Providing Energy Support to Bangladesh
India and China have expressed interest in jointly cooperating to help Bangladesh address its ongoing energy crisis. On Monday, the ambassadors of the two countries conveyed this positive stance after holding separate meetings at the Secretariat with Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, the Finance Minister, and Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, the Minister for Power and Energy.
Speaking to the media after meeting the finance minister at the Secretariat, China’s Ambassador Yao Wen said that Bangladesh and China would work together in the future to resolve the energy problem. He further noted that China is particularly interested in providing necessary energy assistance to Bangladesh to help overcome the current situation.
Earlier on Sunday, Pranay Verma, the Ambassador of India, held a meeting with the energy minister. According to the meeting documents, Bangladesh has proposed importing 20,000 tonnes of diesel per month through a pipeline from Numaligarh Refinery Limited in India under the existing agreement.
Under this agreement, 5,000 tonnes of diesel have already arrived in the country this year. Within the next few days, Dhaka is maintaining regular communication with Delhi to ensure the supply of another 5,000 tonnes of diesel.
In addition, Bangladesh has shown interest in collecting diesel from the additional 60,000 tonnes of ‘optional’ quantity included in the agreement.
