Bangladesh
Enerygy Deal Qatar's Prime Minister praises Bangladesh's stability during meeting with Sheikh Hasina
Dhaka, May 24: Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said that his country is interested in strengthening friendly relations with Bangladesh. He said this in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the bilateral meeting room of Raffles Tower in Doha.
Later, during the press briefing, Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen said that during the meeting, the Prime Minister of Qatar told him (Sheikh Hasina) that they (Qatar) are true friends of Bangladesh and want to further develop relations with Bangladesh. At this time, the Prime Minister of Qatar praised Sheikh Hasina for bringing stability to Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh said that her country buys a large amount of energy from Qatar. "We want you to help us with fuel." In response, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said that they are promising that Qatar will do as much as possible for Bangladesh.
Regarding the fear of Bangladeshi workers losing their jobs in Qatar after the FIFA World Cup, the Prime Minister of Qatar said that Bangladeshi workers are their assets and friends. Qatar will keep them in their country as much as possible.
Later Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Saad Sherida Al Kaabi met the Prime Minister of Bangladesh at her residence.
In the meeting, the issue of signing a new agreement regarding the supply of additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh in the future came up for discussion.
In the press briefing, Dr. Momen said that Sheikh Hasina has asked to sign a new agreement as soon as possible to procure larger quantities of fuel from Qatar. An existing 15-year deal signed in 2017 to import LNG from Qatar will remain in effect until 2032, but a new deal will need to be signed after 2025 to get larger quantities of the fuel.
Momen said that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh has asked to sign the agreement immediately after resolving the bargaining issues.
Describing Bangladesh as a friendly country and noting that the country had stood by Qatar in difficult times, they (Qatar) promised that they would consider all possible concessions while signing the agreement.
