Kaladan News
Dated: Friday, April 01, 2005
Indian Foreign Ministry Against Signing any MoU on the Gas
Pipeline
Chittagong, April 01:
The Indian foreign ministry reportedly warned their energy ministry against
accepting three proposed conditions of Bangladesh in signing any MoU
on the gas pipeline, according to UNB, Dhaka.
From the beginning, Bangladesh has said that it would not sign any
deal on gas pipeline unless India accepted its three
conditions. The conditions are allowing Bangladesh to export goods to Nepal and Bhutan through Indian corridor, to import
electricity from those two countries through Indian territories and measures to
reduce huge trade imbalance with India.
In the mean time, Burma has proposed Bangladesh to hold meeting of the technical
committee on the much-talked-about tri-nation gas pipeline on April 20-21 in Dhaka for signing the deal.
According to sources, the head of Energy Planning Department of Burma put
forward the proposal in a letter
recently to the chairman of Petrobangla.
As per earlier decision, a MoU
is supposed to be signed by the three nations -- Bangladesh, Burma and India -- for installation of
the proposed gas pipeline.
According to Energy Ministry sources, Bangladesh was yet to reply to the Burma side, as the country has not made any decision as yet
regarding the proposed meeting of the technical committee.
Earlier, the first meeting of the three nations
was held in Burma January 11-12 with
energy ministers of the respective countries attending the meet.
A technical committee comprising representatives
of the three countries was formed which held its first meeting on February
23-24 in Burma's capital Rangoon.
The committee prepared a draft MoU and decided to meet in April in Dhaka to
sign agreement on the tri-nation pipeline, preliminarily meant for pipeline
export of gas from Burma to India.
Previously,as per claim of
State Minister of Bangladesh, the Indian energy minister agreed to accept the
above proposed three conditions of Bangladesh. ##
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