‘Requests being examined’: Maldives, Sri Lanka among several nations seeking India’s energy supplies, says MEA | India News
NEW DELHI: Several neighboring countries have sought India’s help in supplying petroleum amid growing regional pressure as the Middle East conflict continues, the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.“In Bangladesh, we have continued to supply their energy needs since 2007… We recently supplied 38,000 metric tonnes of petroleum products to Sri Lanka on their request. We have ongoing engagement with Nepal and Bhutan, which continues,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.“The Maldivian government has approached us to supply petroleum products on both a short-term and long-term basis. These requests are being examined keeping in mind our own availability and demand,” he added.Jaiswal also assured security of Indians in the region. About 10 million Indians live in the GCC countries. They are all safe, and we are in regular contact with them. It is unfortunate that so far eight Indians have been killed in this encounter and one is still missing,” he said.“Here at the Ministry of External Affairs, in coordination with our Ministry of Shipping and all our Indian embassies in the region, we are dedicated to protecting the security and interests of our citizens. We are closely monitoring all developments and activities related to the Gulf region, this ongoing conflict and the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.Additionally, addressing the evacuation efforts, Jaiswal said, “Several of our Indian nationals – 204 to be precise – managed to leave Iran for Azerbaijan through the land border, and from there, they will return home. Several of them have already returned, while others will do so in the next few days. We are grateful to the national government of Azerbaijan for its assistance to Indians in Azerbaijan. Iran.“
