Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sought energy assistance during a meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammad bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani. On May 23rd, a bilateral meeting was held in the meeting room of Raffles Tower, Doha, country’s capital.
Later, foreign minister during the press briefing, A. K. Abdul Momen said that the Prime Minister of Qatar told PM Sheikh Hasina in the meeting that they are true friends of Bangladesh and want to further develop relations with Bangladesh. Referring to Bangladesh’s purchase of large quantities of fuel from Qatar, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, “We want you to help us with fuel,” she told her counterpart, quoted the foreign minister. At that time, the Prime Minister of Qatar Mohammad bin Abdul Rahman said that his country is interested in strengthening friendly relations with Bangladesh. He said, 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 2023 FIFA World Cup, the Qatari prime minister said Bangladeshi workers will keep their assets and friends and Qatar will keep them in their country as much as possible. Later Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Saad Bin Sherida Al Kabi met the Prime Minister of Bangladesh at his residence.
In that 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. Momen said that Sheikh Hasina has asked to sign a new agreement as soon as possible to procure larger quantities of fuel from Qatar.
The existing 15-year contract signed in 2017 to import LNG from Qatar will remain in force until 2032. However, after 2025, a new agreement will have to be signed to get larger quantities of fuel, he said. Momen said that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh has asked to sign the agreement immediately after resolving the bargaining issues.
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