Assisting B’desh, other neighbours while factoring domestic energy requirements, says MEA

New Delhi, March 19: India on Thursday said that it continues to assist Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries on the issue of energy supply requirements while balancing domestic needs, refining capacity, and diesel availability.
Addressing the weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated that New Delhi has received energy requests from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and other neighbouring countries.
He mentioned that India has been supplying diesel to Bangladesh since 2007 through various modes of transportation and continues to assist the South Asian nation, along with other neighbouring countries.
“About energy, we have received requests from several of our neighbouring countries, and I had spoken about this earlier as well. We have received requests from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and some other neighbouring countries. As I had indicated earlier, India has been supplying diesel to Bangladesh since 2007 through various modes of transportation. We are continuing to assist Bangladesh and our other neighbours even currently. This is being done while factoring in our own requirements, refining capacity, and diesel availability,” said Jaiswal.
With the energy shipping routes having been impacted due to the ongoing West Asia conflict, he mentioned that the supply of LPG remains a matter of concern.
“Therefore, we are prioritising domestic consumption and domestic consumers first. Their needs will be taken care of, and then we will decide how to manage LPG supply to commercial establishments. However, this remains a matter of concern due to the shortage of supply.”
Last week, highlighting India’s role as a major exporter of refined petroleum products, particularly to neighbouring countries, the MEA had said that the Indian government had received a request from Bangladesh for diesel supply, which was under review. (IANS)