Dhaka seeks Delhi’s advice on Russian energy purchase: Momen

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Monday said he sought advices from his Indian counterpart on how New Delhi is purchasing oil from Russia amid Ukraine crisis as Bangladesh is an energy dependent country, reports BSS.

"Russia offered us energy and wheat. It has become a real problem (energy demand). We sought their (India) suggestions on how they are doing it," he told reporters while speaking about his meeting with Indian External Affairs minister S Jaishankar.

Momen arrived in Dhaka last night after attending the two-day NADI Conclave with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Guwahati.

"We didn't hold any formal bilateral meeting with him (Jaishankar) ... but we discussed on many issues in friendly manner," he said. 

During the talk, the foreign minister said he suggested his Indian counterpart to strengthen the cooperation between the regional countries to develop own immunity against any western crisis. 

The foreign minister said Bangladesh will get affected if there is instability in the USA and Europe as these are big export markets while the country's remittance earning will be affected if there is tension in the Middle East. 

"We are very inter-dependent ... It is good for all to end the war as soon as possible," he added.

Dr Momen said Bangladesh is a peace-loving country and it always wants to see stability across the world.

He also said that Bangladesh is a big promoter of multilateralism.

The foreign minister also criticized some countries, without naming them, claiming that they are in a way impeding Bangladesh's development. 

"We used to call them as development partners. They don't pay for the development but keep giving advices," he said, adding that such attitude is not acceptable.