Bangladesh proposes cross-border natural gas pipeline to Myanmar to ease domestic energy crisis

The government in Dhaka has formally proposed importing natural gas from Myanmar through a cross-border pipeline to Chattogram to revitalize bilateral energy cooperation and address mounting domestic energy shortages, Bangladesh media reported. The initiative was presented on Aug. 2 by Bangladesh Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood during a meeting with Myanmar’s regime Ambassador to Bangladesh, Kyaw Soe Moe, at the Secretariat in Dhaka. Pipeline Proposal and Broader Regional Infrastructure Declining domestic natural gas production has left Bangladesh increasingly reliant on costly imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). To secure long-term energy supplies, Dhaka seeks to revive a long-standing proposal to build a pipeline linking gas fields in Myanmar directly to southeastern Bangladesh. Rohingya Repatriation Talks and Bilateral Context The energy negotiations take place alongside ongoing, complex discussions regarding the repatriation of over one million Rohingya refugees residing in camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. Most fled northern Arakan State during military “clearance operations” in 2016–2017—actions now subject to an ongoing genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).