INDIA-BANGLADESH The ‘friendship pipeline’ promoted by New Delhi and Dhaka was inaugurated

With a length of 132 kilometers, it can directly supply diesel oil to northern Bangladesh from the Numaligarh refinery in Assam, avoiding rail transport. This is a new step in cooperation between the two countries, which in recent years reached an agreement on the distribution of the waters of the Ganges and resumed numerous road and rail links.

New Delhi ( / Agencies) – A cross-border oil pipeline capable of supplying northern Bangladesh with one million metric tons of diesel per year from the Indian Numaligarh refinery in Assam was inaugurated on March 18 in a virtual ceremony presided over by the two prime ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina. The India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline aims to reduce the time and cost of fuel supply from India, strengthening energy cooperation between the two countries.

The Numaligarh refinery has been supplying petroleum products to Bangladesh since 2015, but until now the transportation was done by train. Describing the pipeline as a new chapter in bilateral ties, Modi said oil trade with Bangladesh has passed the $1 billion barrier.

For her part, Hasina explained that this pipeline is crucial for Bangladesh’s energy security, especially given the energy repercussions caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine. The pipeline extends 132 km to Parbatipur; the foundation stone was laid in September 2018, while the 127 km stretch into the interior of Bangladesh was built with an Indian grant.

Hasina highlighted the steps the two countries have taken over the years to strengthen their ties, citing the Ganges water-sharing treaty, the reactivation of rail and road links that had been disrupted during the 1965 war. between India and Pakistan, the delimitation of land and sea borders, and greater energy cooperation.

Bangladesh currently imports 1,160 megawatts of electricity from India, and the first unit of the Rampal coal-fired power station, jointly developed by the two countries, has come online. Hasina also reiterated his offer to India to use Mongla and Chattogram ports and Sylhet and Chattogram international airports and invited Indian companies to invest in the 100 special economic zones being created by Bangladesh.