Amid a global fuel crisis, India confirmed it has received and is examining requests for diesel supplies from neighbouring countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
India Considers Diesel Supply to Neighbours
Amid the conflict in West Asia and the Gulf region, which has resulted in a fuel crisis in several countries across the world, India on Thursday said that it has received a request from Bangladesh for the supply of diesel, which is currently being examined by the government. Other countries from the neighbourhood, including the Maldives and Sri Lanka, have also approached India.
The inputs were shared by the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiwal during a weekly presser here in the national capital on Thursday. Speaking about India's energy assistance to countries in the neighbourhood, on the request by Dhaka, Jaiswal said, "India is a major exporter of refined petroleum products especially to our neighborhood. We have received a request from the government of Bangladesh for supply of diesel which is being examined."
Long-standing Energy Ties with Bangladesh
Underlining the people-centric and development-oriented approach to relations with Bangladesh, Jaiswal recalled how India has been supplying diesel from the Numaligarh refinery to Bangladesh since 2017 through various modes, which include waterways, rail and later through the India-Bangladesh friendship pipeline. "A sale purchase agreement was signed in October 2017 between Numaligarh refinery and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation for supply of high-speed diesel on mutually agreed terms. It bears mention that whilst diesel exports to Bangladesh have largely continued since 2017, India's refining capacity, our own requirements and diesel availability will be factored in while taking decisions", he informed.
The MEA Spokesperson further noted, "We have received requests from several other countries including Sri Lanka and Maldives and these are being taken to being examined taking into account our own energy requirements and availability that we have".
With the conflict between US-Israel and Iran into its second month now, global energy supplies have been impacted.
Bangladesh Confirms Recent and Future Shipments
The remarks come after on March 27, a senior Bangladesh government official said that India has supplied an additional 5,000 tons of diesel, a senior government official said on Friday night.
"An additional 5,000 tons of diesel have arrived in Bangladesh from India. With this, Bangladesh has now received a total of 15,000 tons of diesel from India in recent times," Md. Murshed Hossain Azad, General Manager (Commercial), Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), told ANI over the phone.
"On March 28, pumping will be done to send an additional 6,000 tons of diesel to Bangladesh," he added.
"In the coming month of April, India has proposed to supply 40,000 tons of diesel to Bangladesh. We have officially accepted this proposal," Azad said, without elaborating. (ANI)
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