Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan on Wednesday said Turkey would be “more than happy” to play the role of a transit country for energy supply to Bangladesh. He said the Russian Federation has conveyed that it would like to see Turkey as an energy hub for exporting oil and gas to Europe. “If that is possible for Bangladesh and some formula can be found, and if we need to play a role in this as a transit country, of course we will be more than happy to do so,” said Ambassador Turan who was speaking at a “Meet the Ambassador” programme in a Dhaka hotel. Read: Election Bangladesh’s own issue, not foreigners’ concern: Turkish Ambassador He said Turkey is not a country with energy resources. “So, we are not a source country for energy supply but we are a transit country.” Asked about his impression of Bangladesh’s relations with India and China, he said Bangladesh is benefitting from cooperation with both countries. Read: Bangladesh seeks Brazilian investment in energy, infrastructure, ICT sectors “Bangladesh’s foreign policy is doing very well under the circumstances. It’s very prudent not to take any side. Bangladesh’s foreign policy is navigating successfully so far,” he said. Responding to a question on defence cooperation between Bangladesh and Turkey, he said it is a “substantial cooperation”, but he did not disclose details. Referring to former foreign secretary Md. Touhid Hossain’s views on joint or co-production of defence equipment, the envoy said defence cooperation should not be only buying and selling, rather it should be more about joint collaboration. Read: Bangladesh wants to buy sugar, wheat, soybean oil from Brazil “This is what we exactly like to do. We have shown our interest in technology transfer and joint ventures,” he said. Zillur Rahman, Executive Director of the Centre for Governance Studies moderated the programme. Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) hosted the event in collaboration with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh. Read: Russian FM Lavrov’s Visit: Dhaka to focus on energy cooperation, Rohingya issue

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said the government broadened its network of sources for energy supply through successful discussion with a number of friendly countries. “We had limited sources before. Now, we have widened the sources of the network. We have made it very successfully,” he told reporters after attending a prize giving ceremony at Buet playground. Read more: Dhaka, Moscow discuss energy cooperation Momen said the energy crisis is now a global crisis as there is a disruption in the supply chain and financial transaction due to the war in Ukraine. He mentioned his successful discussion with the ministers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where there is plenty of oil stock. Momen said the countries like Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia are also willing to supply energy to Bangladesh. “Even, China is willing to supply energy if Bangladesh faces a crisis. You see more nations are coming,” he said. Read more: Come with money, technology in green energy sector, Nasrul tells development partners Momen said Bangladesh will soon manage the situation and there will be availability of energy. “We will do whatever is needed for the welfare of the country.” Responding to a question, the foreign minister said there is no dollar crisis in the country. After paying $1.35 billion to Asian Clearing Union (ACU) as an import bill for September-October and $131 million spent to meet LC liabilities, the forex reserves stood at $34.3 billion at the end of November 7. Momen said the forex reserves fluctuated from US$ 3 billion to US$ 3.5 billion during the period of 2001-2006. “There is no shortage of foreign currency. It's plenty of money for a few months of import,” said the foreign minister.  Momen said there is no reason to stop issuance of LC (letter of credit), rather the government is taking action to check over invoicing. “This is good. They should examine or reexamine all the documents. This is not bad at all.”

The Cabinet on Monday cleared a proposal for the extension of the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010 for another five years till 2026. The approval came from the virtual cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. The PM joined it from her official residence Ganobhaban. Other cabinet members were connected with the meeting from the Bangladesh Secretariat. Read: Cabinet body okays proposal for setting up 42,500 solar systems in 3 hill districts “Since the tenure of the existing law is going to expire in 2021, the proposed law was brought to extend it by another five years till 2026,” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters after the meeting. He said the cabinet gave the final approval to the draft of Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in order to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity and energy for the sake of making Bangladesh into a higher middle-income country by 2030 and a developed country by 2041. The tenure of the special provision, enacted in 2010, was extended on several occasions in the past, he said. “But no change other than time extension has been made to the proposed law,” said the Cabinet Secretary.