New Delhi: Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman sought increased diesel and fertilizer supplies from India amid the global supply squeeze, during a meeting with petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday.
India is a major energy exporter to its eastern neighbour and supplies diesel through the India-Bangladesh Friendship pipeline. Last month, India supplied 5,000 tonnes of diesel under an agreement.
Bangladesh foreign minister Khalilur Rahman, who is on a three-day visit to India from Tuesday, met external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and Puri in New Delhi on Wednesday. Bangladesh prime minister's advisor for foreign affairs Humaiun Kobir and Bangladesh high commissioner to India Riaz Hamidullah were present at these meetings, said a statement from the high commission.
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"Rahman expressed thanks to minister Hardeep Puri for the recent supply of diesel to Bangladesh by India and requested an increase in the volume of supply of diesel and fertilizer. Minister Puri indicated that the government of India will consider the request readily and favourably," it said.
Taking to the social media platform X, Puri said that they discussed bilateral cooperation in the energy sector during the meeting.
The two sides also agreed to undertake consultations on key bilateral issues, said the Bangladesh high commission's statement.
Mint earlier reported that Bangladesh has formally asked the Indian government to raise petroleum product exports from state-run Oil India Ltd’s Numaligarh Refinery via the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.
Annual diesel supplies to Bangladesh through the pipeline stand at around 100,000 tonnes.
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Early last month, around 5,000 tonnes of diesel were supplied through the pipeline, expected to reach the Parbatipur depot in Dinajpur.
The 131-km pipeline, inaugurated in 2022, is the first cross-border energy link between India and Bangladesh. India supplies petroleum products to seven districts in northern Bangladesh through it, while Numaligarh Refinery has been supplying petroleum products to Bangladesh by rail since 2015.
Built for an estimated ₹377 crore, the Bangladesh portion cost ₹285 crore, funded by India through grant assistance.
Mint previously reported that India is also considering proposals to send high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) and furnace oil to Bangladesh. HSFO is largely used in the maritime industry, while furnace oil powers homes, businesses, and industrial units.
India, the fourth-largest refiner in the world with a crude refining capacity of 258 million tonnes, is a key supplier of petroleum products to countries in the neighbourhood.
Recently, the spokesperson to the ministry of external affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said that several neighbouring countries have sought India’s assistance for petroleum supplies due to supply constraints amid the war in West Asia.
“On Bangladesh, we continue to supply energy requirements to them since 2007...We have also recently supplied 38,000 tonnes of petroleum products to Sri Lanka, based on their request. We have ongoing engagement with Nepal and Bhutan, which continues," Jaiswal told reporters.