Dhaka has had to resort to fuel rationing since Sunday, as limited supplies have triggered a shortage

India will provide diesel to Bangladesh amid a supply shortage spurred by the Middle East conflict, according to reports.

Dhaka has had to resort to fuel rationing since Sunday after facing an energy crisis, AFPreported.

New Delhi willsupply5,000 tonnes of diesel via a pipeline through the Parbatipur border, news agency ANI cited Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) chairman, Muhammed Rezanur Rahman as saying.

"We have an agreement with India, and according to that agreement, India will supply 180,000 tonnes of diesel to Bangladesh via the pipeline each year. The 5,000 tons of diesel that is arriving now is a part of that agreement," Rahman told ANI on Tuesday.

Bangladesh imports 95% of its oil and gas requirements. Panic buying and hoarding have also contributed to the shortage in the South Asian nation following warnings of possible supply disruptions after the Middle East conflict erupted.

Five of the six fertilizer manufacturing facilities in the country have also been shut until March 18, a Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation aide told AFP.

New Delhi-Dhakabilateral ties, which became strained after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India following an uprising in 2024, have been on the mend after the government of Tarique Rehman assumed power in Bangladesh in February.

Bangladesh's new military intelligence chief, Major General Mohammad Kaiser Rashid Chowdhury, visited New Delhi recently to meet with Indian intelligence heads, in a first significant step to normalize ties between the South Asian neighbors, according to multiple reports in the Indian media.

(RT.com)