Bangladesh will buy oil from whoever gives a “comfortable price”, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, as the South Asian country seeks to secure supplies and ensure prices do not rise further during a IMF program international
Commodity prices, including oil, have risen globally and Bangladesh is suffering, Hasina told Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin at the Qatar Economic Forum. Rising prices have fueled an energy crisis, fueled inflation and depleted its foreign reserves, forcing Hasina’s government to preemptively seek help from the Washington-based lender.
“Wherever it is available and whoever gives us a comfortable price, we will definitely use it,” Hasina said. “We’re looking at all other avenues, including renewables and solar as well.”
Last year, the nation held early talks with India and Russia to buy discounted petroleum products. Bangladesh’s $416 billion economy was hit for the first time by the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic difficulties worsened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Hasina said Dhaka would not take sides to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine and its impact on the global economy. Bangladesh will “never play a partisan role in the world,” he added.
Refunds
The 75-year-old leader said Bangladesh was in a position to repay the $4.7 billion loan received from the International Monetary Fund in January this year.
“We borrowed as much as we needed,” he said. “You know they only give aid to countries that can pay their bill.”
The authorities have raised energy prices, cut subsidies and taken steps to unify their multiple exchange rates. The nation’s ability to implement the Washington-based lender’s prescriptions will remain key as it weighs a credit rating downgrade, Moody’s Investors Service said in April.
Bangladesh’s dollar stock fell to $30.18 billion on May 17, covering just over three months of imports, from $42.24 billion a year earlier. Inflation remained high at 9.24% in April, although it moderated somewhat from March.
The loan program is expected to help ease pressure on Hasina’s government as it heads to the polls in early 2024. She is the longest-serving elected head of government, having ruled Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001 and again from 2009 to now.
Hasina said her government will ensure that elections scheduled for January are “free and fair”. His comments come after the administration’s heavy-handed crackdown on the opposition raised concerns about violence and repression ahead of the polls.
The United States and Britain are among the nations that have called on Dhaka to ensure a transparent election, although the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the main rival of the ruling Awami League, has threatened to boycott the vote.
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