Bangladesh seeking more energy from India, refined crude from Russia: Shahriar

For over a decade Bangladesh and India have been maintaining a cordial relationship, which has reached new highs in recent years as both countries want to deepen the ties further for mutual benefits.  

Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs, said out of all of India’s neighbours, the Indian government has invited only Bangladesh as one of 10 guest countries during its Presidency of the G20 beginning on December 1, 2022.

“Ties are likely to strengthen as a result of the invitation, which comes amidst a number of energy and connectivity projects between the two countries,” Alam told The Hindu in an interview published on Sunday.

India also invited Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as guest countries to its G20 meetings and Summit. 

The state minister also talked about the energy issue at a time when the world including Bangladesh is facing an acute shortage of energy due to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Alam said Bangladesh is seeking more energy from India and refined crude from Russia to meet its rising needs.

Bangladesh usually imports fuel oils from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and LNG from Qatar. But the Russia-Ukraine war rattled the global markets and supply chain, for which many countries have been struggling to deal with the soaring energy prices.