India, China show interest in providing fuel support to Bangladesh
India and China have expressed interest in supporting Bangladesh with fuel oil supplies, according to officials following separate meetings with the country's finance and energy ministers.
The interest was conveyed by India's Ambassador to Dhaka Pranay Verma and China's Ambassador to Dhaka Yao Wen after their meetings with Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the finance minister at the Secretariat today (9 March), the Chinese envoy said Bangladesh and China would work together to address the country's energy challenges. He added that China is interested in providing energy cooperation to Bangladesh.
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Earlier on the day, the Indian ambassador met the energy minister to discuss fuel supply cooperation.
According to documents from the meeting, Bangladesh has proposed importing 20,000 tonnes of diesel per month through a pipeline from Numaligarh Refinery Limited in India under the existing agreement between the two countries.
Under the deal, Bangladesh has received 5,000 tonnes of diesel so far this year. Dhaka is also in communication to receive another 5,000 tonnes of diesel within the next couple of days.
Bangladesh has also expressed interest in receiving supplies from the existing optional quantity of 60,000 tonnes under the agreement.
