New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFP) today in a virtual mode. The foundation stone for the construction of this pipeline was laid by both Prime Ministers in September 2018. Numaligarh Refinery Limited has been supplying petroleum products to Bangladesh since 2015. This is the second cross-border energy pipeline between India and its neighbours.

Cooperation in the power and energy sector has become one of the hallmarks of India-Bangladesh relations. IBFP is the first cross border energy pipeline between India and Bangladesh with a capacity to transport one million metric ton per annum (MMTPA) of high-speed diesel (HSD) to Bangladesh. Enhanced connectivity with Bangladesh will further strengthen people to people linkages between two sides.

Bangladesh is India’s top-most development partner and its largest trade partner in the region. The operationalisation of the Friendship Pipeline will enhance ongoing energy cooperation between the two countries and will further growth in Bangladesh, particularly in the agriculture sector. Prime Minister Modi thanked Prime Minister Hasina for her constant guidance on the project and expressed his wish to continue working with her for the benefit of the people of the two countries. /BI/