By IANS,
Kolkata : Bangladesh is planning to import natural gas from Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia as new scientific calculations have shown that the country has limited gas reserve, a top diplomat of the country said Wednesday.
“New scientific calculations have shown that there is limited gas reserve. We are planning to import gas from Malaysia and Indonesia. We are in talks with the Myanmarese government for importing gas,” Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Mustafizur Rahman said in an interactive session organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI).
Asked whether Bangladesh was willing to export its natural gas to India, he said: “If the reserve of gas is sufficient, then we can think about exporting gas.”
Rahman said Bangladesh was looking forward to full implementation of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement to correct trade imbalance with India.
“When SAFTA will be implemented fully, then exportable items from Bangladesh to India will be increased. We expect India to be more generous in expanding trade relation with us,” he said.
During 2009-10, Bangladesh’s exports to India were $276.58 million and imports from India were $3,202.1 million.
“Indian entrepreneurs can invest in Bangladesh in sectors like textile, ready-made garments, power generation and civil aviation,” he said.