Bangladesh proposes to import gas from Myanmar via pipeline

Bangladesh has proposed to import natural gas through a pipeline from Myanmar to meet the country's growing energy needs and address the gas crisis. At the same time, discussions were also held on further strengthening long-term energy cooperation between the two countries.

Recently, this issue was discussed in a courtesy call between Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hassan Mahmud and Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh Kyaw Soe Moe at the Secretariat. The matter was later announced in a press release by the Ministry of Energy.

The release said that Bangladesh has expressed interest in importing gas directly from Myanmar through a pipeline. The ambassador also positively accepted the proposal and expressed interest in taking forward detailed technical and commercial discussions on this.

The discussion also raised the issue of reviewing the plan to build a gas pipeline from Myanmar to Chittagong in the past. The possibility of supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) along with the pipeline was also discussed.

Bangladesh proposed to organize a ministerial-level meeting to make energy cooperation between the two countries more effective. At that time, the Minister of Power and Energy invited the Myanmar Minister of Energy to visit Bangladesh. He also expressed his interest in visiting Myanmar if necessary.

In addition, the issues of regional communication and energy infrastructure development also gained importance in the discussion. According to the government, if the China-Myanmar-Bangladesh corridor is implemented in the future, the potential gas pipeline project can play an important role in regional energy connectivity.

The Myanmar ambassador proposed to organize a meeting of the joint technical committee of the two countries, so that detailed discussions can be held on the construction of the pipeline, gas supply, commercial conditions and other technical issues.

Those concerned believe that if the proposal is implemented, Bangladesh's energy supply sources will be more diverse and new possibilities may open up in dealing with the gas crisis in the long term.