Bangladesh has formally requested additional diesel supplies from India as it seeks to manage a growing fuel shortage at home, officials said on Wednesday.
Under an existing agreement, India currently supplies around 15,000 tonnes of diesel to Bangladesh each month.
However, the government in Dhaka has now asked New Delhi to provide extra fuel beyond that amount to help stabilise domestic energy supplies.
Speaking to reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said the request had been made as an emergency measure.
He said Bangladesh had sent a formal letter to the Indian government seeking additional fuel assistance to address the ongoing energy crunch.
India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Kumar Verma, confirmed that the request had been received and would be forwarded to the Indian government for consideration.
Earlier in the day, the envoy held a meeting with the minister and other officials at the Secretariat in Dhaka. After the meeting, Verma told reporters that Bangladesh had formally sought extra fuel supplies and that the matter would be promptly communicated to authorities in New Delhi.
Key pipeline link
One of the main channels for fuel imports from India to Bangladesh is the India–Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline, also known as the Maitree Pipeline.
The cross-border pipeline stretches roughly 131km from the Siliguri marketing terminal in India to the Parbatipur depot in Dinajpur district in northern Bangladesh. It allows diesel to be transported directly into the country.
Under the current agreement, the pipeline is used to deliver about 15,000 tonnes of diesel per month. Bangladesh has now requested additional supply beyond that level to ease pressure on domestic fuel markets.
The pipeline was inaugurated in March 2023 during the previous government. Although it has the capacity to transport about 200,000 metric tonnes of diesel annually, existing arrangements envisage roughly 180,000 tonnes being delivered through the system this year.